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

This causes them to lose strength and stiffen gradually and usually affects your walking, talk, consume food and breathe.

It is a relatively rare disease that is most common in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of all ages can be affected.

A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is 1 out of 300.

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

Researchers are not sure the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genes - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and other environmental influences.

In as many as 10% of individuals with MND, specific genes are far more significant.

There is usually a family history of the disease in these cases.

What are the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

Not all individuals has the identical signs, or experiences them in the same order.

The condition can progress at varying rates too.

Among the most frequent signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with how you speak
• complications involving ingesting, eating and drinking
• reduced cough reflex

Does There Exist a Treatment?

There is no cure, but there is optimism stemming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND.

MND is not a single illness - it is really multiple that result in the death of motor neurones.

An innovative medication called tofersen is effective in just 2% of patients, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the manifestations of MND.

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

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

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

Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the disease and increase survival by a few months, but it cannot repair damage.

What is Survival Rate for MND?

Some people can live for many years with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

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

According to the charity MND Association, the disease kills a one-third of individuals within a year and more than half within two years of identification.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and breathing become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

The precise reason has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople seem overrepresented by MND.

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

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an higher likelihood of developing the condition.

Scientists also found that rugby players who have suffered repeated head injuries have biological differences that may make them more susceptible to developing MND.

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

It added that while the sportspeople studied were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the condition.

The charity also stresses that "reported MND instances in these studies is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is merely a grouping due to statistical coincidence".

Several prominent athletes have been identified with the condition in the past few years.

This encompasses former rugby players, footballers, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the disease at the age of 39.