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Motor neurone disease affects nerve cells located in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscles how to function.

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

This is a quite uncommon condition that is most common in people over 50, but adults of any age can be impacted.

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

About 5,000 adults in the UK will have the condition at any one time.

Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are born, and additional environmental influences.

For up to 10% of people with MND, specific genes are far more significant.

Typically there is a family history of the disease in these cases.

Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The condition can advance at varying rates too.

Among the most common indicators are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with how you speak
• issues with ingesting, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Cure?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is optimism coming from therapies targeted at various types of MND.

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

An innovative medication known as tofersen is effective in just 2% of patients, however it has been shown to slow - and in certain instances even undo - some of the manifestations of MND.

It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of optimism" for the entire condition.

Even though the medication has recently received approval in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.

There is only one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the condition and prolong life by several months, but it cannot repair harm.

Determining Survival Rate for MND?

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

But for most, the illness progresses quickly and survival time is just a few years.

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition kills a third of individuals within a twelve months and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.

As the neurons stop working, swallowing and respiration become more challenging and many people need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them remain living.

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?

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

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

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow including four hundred ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of developing the disease.

Scientists additionally discovered that rugby players who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that could render them more prone to developing MND.

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

The organization also emphasises that "documented MND cases in these studies is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a grouping due to random chance".

Several high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with the condition in the past few years.

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

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease at the age of 39.