ELA
/ˈela/feminine
The English term ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is translated into Spanish as ELA.
ELA is the acronym used to refer to the neurodegenerative disease known in English as ALS.
Meaning: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (noun)
Which one should you use?
While English speakers use the acronym ALS, Spanish speakers use the acronym ELA.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because the acronym is derived from the feminine noun esclerosis, it is used with the feminine article la, as in la ELA.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈela/
Did you know?
- Spanish medical discourse often uses the term enfermedad de Lou Gehrig interchangeably with ELA. This keeps the legacy of the American baseball player alive in Spanish-speaking clinical contexts.
- In Spanish, the acronym ELA is pronounced as a single word /'ela/ rather than as individual letters. This makes it sound exactly like the Spanish word for 'she', which is ella.
- In some Spanish-speaking regions, patients and doctors may refer to the condition as el mal de la neurona motora to explain the disease's mechanism to families in plain language.
Examples in context
- La ELA es una enfermedad degenerativa.ALS is a degenerative disease.
- Él está investigando la ELA.He is researching ALS.
- Muchos científicos buscan la cura para la ELA.Many scientists are looking for the cure for ALS.
Example conversation
Sofía and Alejandro are talking about a medical documentary.
- Sofía¿Qué explicaban en el documental?What were they explaining in the documentary?
- AlejandroHablaban sobre los avances en la ELA.They were talking about advances in ALS.
- SofíaEs un tema muy serio, Alejandro.It is a very serious topic, Alejandro.
- AlejandroSí, la ciencia está trabajando mucho en ello.Yes, science is working hard on it.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “als” translations and entries ELA, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
