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MND affects nerve cells located in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscles what to do.

This leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and typically impacts your walking, speak, eat and breathe.

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

A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300.

About 5,000 people in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.

Scientists are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your mother and father when you are born, and other lifestyle factors.

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

There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in such instances.

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can progress at different speeds too.

Some of the most common signs are:

• muscle weakness and muscle spasms
• stiff joints
• problems with your speech
• issues with ingesting, eating and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Cure?

There is no cure, but there is hope coming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND.

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

A new drug called tofersen works in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to slow - and in certain instances even undo - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

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

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

Just one drug currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the disease and increase survival by a few 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 identified at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the illness progresses quickly and life expectancy is only several years.

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition kills a one-third of people within a year and more than half within 24 months of diagnosis.

As the neurons stop working, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and many people need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but elite athletes appear disproportionately affected 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 ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Researchers 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 "link" between collision sports and MND.

It noted that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly led to the condition.

The organization also stresses that "reported MND cases in these studies is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

Multiple prominent sports figures have been identified with the condition in recent years.

These include former rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease aged 39.