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MND impacts nerve cells found in the cerebrum and spine, that instruct your muscle tissue what to do.

This leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and usually affects how you walk, speak, eat and respire.

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

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

Approximately five thousand people in the UK will have the disease at any one time.

Researchers are uncertain what causes MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genes - or biological traits - you get from your parents when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors.

In as many as 10% of individuals with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.

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

Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The disease can progress at different speeds too.

Some of the most frequent indicators are:

• muscle weakness and muscle spasms
• stiff joints
• difficulties in how you speak
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and drinking
• weakened coughing

Does There Exist a Treatment?

No cure, but there is optimism stemming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is actually multiple that result in the death of nerve cells.

A new drug known as tofersen works in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in certain instances even undo - some of the manifestations of MND.

It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of optimism" for the whole disease.

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

Just one drug 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 several months, but it does not reverse harm.

Determining Survival Rate for MND?

Some people can live for many years with MND, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the disease progresses quickly and life expectancy is just a few years.

Based on the charity MND Association, the disease kills a one-third of individuals within a twelve months and more than half within two years of diagnosis.

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

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?

The exact cause has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople 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 including four hundred ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of acquiring the disease.

Scientists also found that rugby players who have experienced repeated head injuries have physiological variations that could render them more prone to contracting MND.

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

It noted that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the disease.

The organization also stresses that "reported MND cases in this research is still relatively low, and so determining there is a definite increased risk could be misunderstood if this is merely a cluster due to random chance".

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

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

In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition at the age of 39.