Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, or more colloquially Lou Gehrig's Disease is a progressive neurological disorder, which eventually robs the body of its ability to control its muscles. During this period of time, the mental faculties of the patient remain intact. It can strike at any time during adulthood and, once diagnosed, it is progressive and eventually fatal. During this period of time, the patient eventually becomes fully paralyzed to the point of no longer being able to talk in many cases, but in all cases to the point of quadriplegia.
ALS cannot be diagnosed through a definitive test, and must be diagnosed through a differential process, where all other possibilities must be eliminated - a diagnosis of exclusion.
One of the most famous sufferers of the disorder, apart from its namesake, was physicist Stephen Hawking, who lived with the disease for fifty-five years, from his days as a student at Oxford until he died in 2018.
In DNR, House turns out to be right when he meets an ALS patient and attempts to find a different diagnosis.
ALS at NIH
ALS at Wikipedia
ALS at Mayo Clinic
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis