What is MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

Motor neurone disease impacts nerve cells found in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscles what to do.

This causes them to weaken and stiffen gradually and usually affects how you walk, speak, eat and respire.

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

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

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

Researchers are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your mother and father when you are born, and additional lifestyle factors.

In as many as one in 10 individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

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

What are the First Signs of the Condition?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can progress at different speeds too.

Some of the most frequent indicators are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• stiff joints
• problems with how you speak
• complications involving ingesting, consuming food and drinking
• weakened coughing

Is There 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 multiple that result in the demise of motor neurones.

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

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

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

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

Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the disease and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse harm.

Determining Survival Rate for MND?

Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for most, the illness advances rapidly and survival time is only several years.

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

As the neurons stop working, ingestion and breathing become increasingly difficult and many people need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but elite athletes appear overrepresented by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an elevated chance of developing MND.

Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University involving 400 former Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the condition.

Scientists additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have suffered multiple concussions have physiological variations that could render them more susceptible to developing MND.

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

It noted that while the athletes researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not show the athletic activities directly caused the disease.

The organization also emphasises that "documented MND cases in these studies is still relatively low, and so determining 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.

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

In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the disease aged 39.