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MND impacts nerves located in the cerebrum and spine, that instruct your muscle tissue how to function.

This causes them to weaken and become rigid over time and usually affects how you walk, talk, eat and breathe.

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

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

About five thousand people in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.

Researchers are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your parents when you are born, and additional environmental influences.

In as many as one in 10 individuals with MND, specific genes are far more significant.

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

What are the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The disease can advance at different speeds too.

Some of the most frequent signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• rigid articulations
• difficulties in how you speak
• complications involving 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 various types of MND.

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

A new drug called tofersen is effective in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the manifestations of MND.

It has been referred to as "truly remarkable" and a "real moment of optimism" for the entire condition.

Even though the medication has recently been approved in the EU, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

There is only one pharmaceutical presently approved for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the disease and prolong life by several months, but it does not reverse damage.

Determining Survival Rate for MND?

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

But for most, the disease progresses quickly and survival time is just a few years.

Based on the charity MND Association, the disease kills a third of people within a twelve months and over 50% within two years of identification.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The exact cause has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople seem overrepresented by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an increased risk of developing MND.

A 2022 study by the Glasgow University involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the condition.

Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more susceptible to contracting MND.

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

It noted that while the athletes researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the disease.

The organization 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 cluster due to random chance".

Several prominent athletes have been identified with the condition in recent years.

These include former rugby players, soccer players, and cricketers.

In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the disease at the age of 39.