Medicine: Probing A Mysterious Cluster

Three former San Francisco 49ers develop Lou Gehrig's disease

During his five years as a backup quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, Bob Waters, now 48, suffered more than his share of bruises and broken bones. Thus when he began to experience some shakiness in his right arm more than four years ago, he simply chalked it up to an old playing injury that had been repaired with a metal plate. "My doctors and I decided that, well, maybe it has something to do with the metal," says Waters, who coaches at Western Carolina University. But gradually, as the muscle spasms spread and both arms weakened, Waters became alarmed. In...

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