According to a story from rediff.com, Dr. Rahul Desikan was a committed amyotrophic lateral sclerosis researcher. Then, in a cruel twist of irony, he was diagnosed with the disease himself. That was two years ago. Now, at the age of 41, Dr. Desikan has succumbed to his lethal diagnosis. The date of his passing was July 14th.
About Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a rare, degenerative disease that causes the death of nerve cells associated with the voluntary muscles. Little is known about the origins of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, with no definitive cause in about 95 percent of cases. The remaining five percent appear to inherit the disease from their parents. Symptoms initially include loss of coordination, muscle weakness and atrophy, muscle stiffness and cramping, and trouble speaking, breathing, or swallowing. These symptoms worsen steadily over time; most patients die because of respiratory complications. Treatment is mostly symptomatic and the medication riluzole can prolong life. Life expectancy after diagnosis ranges from two to four years, but some patients can survive for substantially longer. To learn more about amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, click here.
The Life of Dr. Rahul Desikan
Rahul was working as an assistant professor of radiology at the University of California, San Francisco. He was a co-director of the Laboratory for Precision Neuroimaging there. Dr. Desikan’s focus of research was degenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer’s. It was during this work that he noticed that one of his arms suddenly felt weakened. He essentially diagnosed himself, and a polygenic analysis test he conducted on himself revealed that he had a number of genetic variants associated with the disease.
Dr. Desikan was originally born in New Delhi, India before moving with his parents to Queens, New York. He studied at Boston University, triple majoring in biology, neurosciences, and classics. He would go on to earn his PhD in neurobiology and neuroanatomy there as well. One of his signature achievements was the Desikan Atlas, a system of automatic labeling for use with MRI scans.
Even as his body shut down, Dr. Rahul Desikan continued his amyotrophic lateral sclerosis research until the end. He is survived by his wife, Maya Vijayaraghavan, his two sons Rabi and Amar, his mother and father Veda and Krish, and his sister Vasudha.
To honor the doctor’s memory, the family requests that donations be made to the nonprofit organization I AM ALS.
