HIV was uniformly fatal in 1985 and successfully treated in 1995. Sure, you have to take a single daily pill – sometimes a few. And occasionally there are some side effects; a small price to pay for health and a normal lifespan.

Yes, HIV received massive public attention and – more importantly – funding. The exponential nature of infection and death required it, and the reward (profit) to the pharmaceutical industry was deliciously enticing.

But ALS doesn’t seem an island of its own, rather an archipelago. Though ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Multiple Sclerosis and endless other neuropathies (including spinal cord injuries) have different aspects, they have enormous similarities as well and a cure for one may unlock the path to treat and/or cure the others. This concept should be enticing for pharmaceutical companies and their bean counters.

Is it really so much to ask that everyone be granted a healthy life until age 96 and then one night before your 97th birthday you fall peacefully to sleep, for good?