What is MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

MND affects nerves located in the cerebrum and spine, which tell your muscle tissue how to function.

This leads them to lose strength and stiffen over time and typically impacts how you walk, talk, consume food and breathe.

This is a quite uncommon disease that is most frequent in individuals above age fifty, but grown-ups of all ages can be affected.

An individual's lifetime risk of developing MND is 1 out of 300.

Approximately five thousand adults in the UK will have the condition at any one time.

Scientists 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 born, and additional lifestyle factors.

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

There is usually a family history of the disease in such instances.

Identifying the First Signs of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The disease can progress at varying rates too.

Among the most frequent signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
• stiff joints
• difficulties in your speech
• complications involving swallowing, eating and drinking
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Cure?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is hope coming from treatments focused on various types of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is really several that culminate in the demise of motor neurones.

A new drug known as tofersen works in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even reverse - some of the symptoms of MND.

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

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

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

Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the disease and prolong life by several months, but it does not reverse harm.

What is Life Expectancy for MND?

Certain individuals can live for many years with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the illness progresses quickly and survival time is just a few years.

Based on the charity MND Association, the condition kills a third of individuals within a twelve months and over 50% within 24 months of identification.

As the neurons cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become more challenging and many people need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them remain living.

Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?

The exact cause has not been identified, but elite athletes seem overrepresented by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that professional footballers have an increased risk of contracting MND.

A 2022 study by the Glasgow University including 400 ex- Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an increased risk of developing the disease.

Researchers also found that rugby players who have suffered repeated head injuries have biological differences that could render them more susceptible to contracting MND.

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

It added that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not show the sports directly caused the condition.

The charity also stresses that "documented MND instances in this research is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is merely a grouping due to random chance".

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

This encompasses former rugby internationals, soccer players, and cricket athletes.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease at the age of 39.