If someone died of MND in 1922 ...

[Hayleywart]

What you you expect the cause of death on the death certificate to be?

I am trying to trace my family history in order to find out if my Mum's ALS is the familial form. Her dad, and his dad both died young, so I got hold of her great grandparent's death certificates. Her great grandmother died at the age of 70, from senility. I just wondered if back in 1922, MND might have been confused with senility?

 

[rknt50a]

I think you ask a great question not only for historical death certs but also for more recent ones!

Mom's neurologist said that historically that the term "creeping palsy" had been used to describe neurological diseases such as ALS/MND. I'm not sure if creeping palsy ever made death certificates, but it may be on old medical records or in older people's memories.

I hope that this might be helpful.

 

[jmccarty]

HI - the other way to approach this is to look for traces in more recent branches of the family tree. Most all forms of fALS are dominant meaning that, on average, 50% of the family in the direct lineage will be susceptible and most genetic forms are also fairly penetrant meaning that if the carrier lives a reasonable lifespan they will likely get symptoms.

 

[BethU]

Having tried to decipher old death records in the US for my family history research, I doubt if senility would mean MND. Senility would more likely mean Alzheimer's or other dementia.

rknd hit the nail on the head. From Archaic Medical Terms on Google: CREEPING PALSY: A serious neurologic disease that results from the progressive degeneration of the motor neurons.

Of course, the definition of the archaic term is modern (motor neurons), explaining what the old-time terminology was referring to.

 

[John1]

I have a friend whose mother almost certainly died from ALS in the 1960s in rural Newfoundland. Neurological disorders were little understood then (are they now?) in that area I suspect. Her death was attributed to Shy Dragger Syndrome.

 

[Zaphoon]

"Creeping Palsy"... sounds sinister enough for me! It also has the sound of something that can't be stopped.

Zaphoon

 

[BarryG]

Shy Dragger Syndrome? Yikes! Now that sounds as bad as Creeping Palsy. I wonder what is dragged shyly?