🔗 Share this article

MND impacts nerve cells located in the brain and spine, which tell your muscles how to function.

This causes them to lose strength and stiffen gradually and typically impacts how you walk, talk, consume food and respire.

It is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in people over 50, but grown-ups of all ages can be impacted.

An individual's chance in their life of developing MND is one in 300.

About five thousand people in the UK will have the condition at any given moment.

Scientists are not sure the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genetic material - or biological traits - you get from your parents when you are born, and additional lifestyle factors.

For up to 10% of people with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.

Typically there is a hereditary background of the disease in these cases.

Identifying the First Signs of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The disease can advance at varying rates too.

Among the most common indicators are:

• loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
• stiff joints
• difficulties in how you speak
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and drinking
• weakened coughing

Is There a Treatment?

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

MND is not a single illness - it is really multiple that result in the demise of nerve cells.

A new drug known as tofersen works in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease.

Even though the drug has recently been approved in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

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

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the disease and prolong life by a few months, but it cannot repair damage.

Determining 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 most, the illness progresses quickly and survival time is only several years.

Based on the charity MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a year and more than half within 24 months of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

The exact cause has not been identified, but elite athletes seem disproportionately affected by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an increased risk of contracting MND.

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow involving four hundred former Scotland rugby union players determined they had an increased risk of acquiring the disease.

Scientists also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have physiological variations that may make them more susceptible to developing MND.

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

It added that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not show the sports directly caused the disease.

The charity also stresses that "reported MND cases in this research is remains quite small, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a grouping due to statistical coincidence".

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

These include former rugby union players, footballers, and cricketers.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the disease aged 39.