🔗 Share this article Understanding Motor Neurone Disease and Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis? Motor neurone disease affects nerves found in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscles how to function. This leads them to lose strength and stiffen gradually and usually affects your walking, speak, consume food and respire. It is a quite uncommon disease that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be affected. A person's chance in their life of developing MND is 1 out of 300. About 5,000 people in the UK will have the disease at any one time. Scientists are uncertain what causes MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genetic material - or biological traits - you get from your mother and father when you are delivered, and additional environmental influences. In as many as 10% of people with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role. There is usually a family history of the illness in these cases. Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Condition? MND affects everyone differently. Not all individuals has the identical signs, or experiences them in the same order. The condition can progress at different speeds too. Among the most common indicators are: muscle weakness and cramps stiff joints difficulties in how you speak complications involving ingesting, eating and taking fluids weakened coughing Is There a Cure? There is no cure, but there is optimism coming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND. MND is not one disease - it is really several that culminate in the death of motor neurones. An innovative medication called tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to slow - and in certain instances even reverse - a portion of the symptoms of MND. It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "real moment of hope" for the entire condition. Although the medication has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK. There is only one drug currently licensed for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS. Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the disease and increase survival by a few months, but it cannot repair harm. Determining Life Expectancy for MND? Some people can live for many years with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and survived until 76. But for most, the illness advances rapidly and survival time is only several years. According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a twelve months and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis. As the neurons stop working, ingestion and breathing become more challenging and numerous individuals need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them remain living. Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed? The exact cause has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople appear 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 400 former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the condition. Scientists also found that rugby players who have experienced multiple concussions have physiological variations that could render them more prone to developing MND. The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between collision sports and MND. It added that while the sportspeople researched were more likely to develop MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the disease. The organization also emphasises that "documented MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is merely a grouping due to random chance". Several high-profile sports figures have been diagnosed with the condition in the past few years. These include ex- rugby players, soccer players, and cricket athletes. Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease at the age of 39.