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MND impacts nerves found in the cerebrum and spine, which tell your muscles how to function.

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

It is a quite uncommon condition that is most common in people above age fifty, but adults of all ages can be impacted.

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

Approximately 5,000 people in the UK will have the disease at any given moment.

Scientists are uncertain what causes MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors.

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

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

Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

Not everyone has the same symptoms, or encounters them in the same order.

The condition can advance at different speeds too.

Some of the most frequent indicators are:

• loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
• rigid articulations
• difficulties in how you speak
• complications involving swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Treatment?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is optimism stemming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND.

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

An innovative medication called tofersen works in only one in 50 patients, however it has been shown to slow - and in certain instances even undo - some of the symptoms of MND.

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

Although the medication has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

Just one pharmaceutical presently approved for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the disease and prolong life by several months, but it cannot repair damage.

What is Life Expectancy for MND?

Some people can live for many years with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the illness progresses quickly and survival time is only several years.

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a twelve months and more than half within 24 months of identification.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and many people need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?

The precise reason has not yet been found, but elite athletes seem overrepresented by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an elevated chance of contracting MND.

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

Researchers also found that rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have physiological variations that could render them more susceptible to developing MND.

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

It added that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not prove the sports directly led to the disease.

The organization also emphasises that "reported MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

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

These include ex- rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricketers.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition aged 39.