🔗 Share this article

MND impacts nerve cells found in the cerebrum and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue how to function.

This causes them to lose strength and become rigid over time and usually affects how you walk, speak, eat and breathe.

This is a relatively rare disease that is most common in individuals over 50, but adults of any age can be impacted.

A person's chance in their life of developing MND is 1 out of 300.

About five thousand people in the UK are living with the condition at any one time.

Researchers are uncertain what causes MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you get from your mother and father when you are delivered, and other lifestyle factors.

For up to one in 10 individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

There is usually a family history of the disease in such instances.

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

Not everyone has the same symptoms, or experiences them in the identical sequence.

The condition can progress at different speeds too.

Among the most common indicators are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• stiff joints
• difficulties in your speech
• issues with swallowing, eating and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Does There Exist a Treatment?

No definitive treatment, but there is optimism stemming from treatments focused on various types of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is actually multiple that result in the demise of nerve cells.

A new drug known as tofersen works in just 2% of individuals, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even reverse - some of the manifestations of MND.

It has been referred to as "truly remarkable" and a "real moment of hope" for the whole disease.

Although the medication has recently received approval in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.

There is only one drug presently approved for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the condition and increase survival by several months, but it does not reverse harm.

Determining Survival Rate for MND?

Some people can live for many years with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the illness progresses quickly and survival time is only several years.

According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a one-third of people within a twelve months and more than half within 24 months of identification.

As the neurons stop working, ingestion and breathing become more challenging and numerous individuals need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?

The precise reason has not yet been found, but top-level sportspeople appear disproportionately affected by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an elevated chance of contracting MND.

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the disease.

Researchers additionally discovered that rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more prone to contracting MND.

The MND Association recognizes there is a "link" between collision sports and MND.

It noted that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not prove the sports directly led to the condition.

The charity also stresses that "documented MND instances in these studies is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a grouping due to random chance".

Several high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.

This encompasses ex- rugby players, soccer players, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease at the age of 39.