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Motor neurone disease impacts nerves located in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue how to function.

This causes them to weaken and stiffen over time and usually affects how you walk, talk, consume food and breathe.

This is a relatively rare condition that is most frequent in people over 50, but adults of all ages can be affected.

A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300.

Approximately five thousand adults in the UK will have the disease at any given moment.

Scientists are not sure the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and other environmental influences.

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

There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The disease can advance at different speeds too.

Some of the most frequent signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
• rigid articulations
• problems with your speech
• complications involving swallowing, eating and drinking
• reduced cough reflex

Does There Exist a Treatment?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is hope coming from treatments focused on various types of MND.

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

A new drug called tofersen is effective in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

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

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

Just one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

Determining Life Expectancy for MND?

Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76.

But for the majority, the disease advances rapidly and survival time is just a few years.

Based on the charity MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a year and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.

As the neurons stop working, swallowing and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them remain living.

Are Athletes More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

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

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND.

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Researchers also found that rugby players who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that may make them more susceptible to contracting MND.

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

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

The organization also stresses that "documented MND cases in this research is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misunderstood if this is merely a grouping due to statistical coincidence".

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

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

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