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MND affects nerves located in the cerebrum and spinal cord, which tell your muscle tissue how to function.

This leads them to weaken and become rigid over time and usually affects your walking, talk, consume food and respire.

It is a relatively rare disease that is most common in people above age fifty, but adults of all ages can be impacted.

An individual's lifetime risk of contracting MND is one in 300.

Approximately 5,000 people in the UK are living with the disease at any one time.

Researchers are uncertain what causes MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you get from your parents when you are delivered, and additional environmental influences.

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

There is usually a hereditary background of the disease in such instances.

What are the Early Symptoms of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The disease can progress at varying rates too.

Some of the most common signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• stiff joints
• problems with how you speak
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Does There Exist a Cure?

There is no cure, but there is hope coming from treatments targeted at various types of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is actually several that culminate in the demise of motor neurones.

An innovative medication known as tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even undo - a portion of the manifestations of MND.

It has been referred to as "truly remarkable" and a "significant point of optimism" for the entire condition.

Even though the drug has recently been approved in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.

There is only one pharmaceutical presently approved for the management 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, 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 life expectancy is only several years.

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a one-third of people within a year and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, 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 Receive a Diagnosis?

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

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

A 2022 study by the Glasgow University including four hundred former Scotland rugby union players determined they had an increased risk of acquiring the condition.

Scientists additionally discovered that rugby players who have suffered repeated head injuries have biological differences that could render them more susceptible to contracting MND.

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

It added that while the sportspeople studied were more likely to develop MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the disease.

The charity also stresses that "documented MND cases in this research is still relatively low, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

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

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

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease aged 39.