🔗 Share this article

MND impacts nerve cells found in the brain and spine, which tell your muscle tissue what to do.

This leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and typically impacts your walking, speak, consume food and breathe.

It is a quite uncommon condition that is most common in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be impacted.

An individual's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300.

About five thousand people in the UK will have the condition at any one time.

Scientists are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your mother and father when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors.

In as many as one in 10 people with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.

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

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The disease can progress at different speeds too.

Among the most common signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with your speech
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and drinking
• weakened coughing

Does There Exist a Treatment?

There is no cure, but there is hope coming from therapies focused on various types of MND.

MND is not a single illness - it is actually several that culminate in the demise of nerve cells.

A new drug known as tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

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

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

Just one drug presently approved for the management of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the condition and increase survival by a few months, but it cannot repair harm.

What is Survival Rate for MND?

Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and survived until 76.

But for the majority, the disease progresses quickly and life expectancy is only several years.

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a third of people within a year and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and breathing become more challenging and many people need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

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

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an elevated chance of contracting MND.

A 2022 study by the Glasgow University involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of developing the disease.

Researchers also found that rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have biological differences that may make them more susceptible to contracting MND.

The MND Association acknowledges there is a "link" between contact sports and MND.

It added that while the athletes studied were more likely to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly caused the condition.

The organization also stresses that "documented MND cases in this research is still relatively low, and so determining there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is merely a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

Multiple high-profile sports figures have been identified with the condition in recent years.

This encompasses ex- rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes.

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the condition at the age of 39.