🔗 Share this article Understanding MND and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Receive a Diagnosis? Motor neurone disease affects nerves found in the cerebrum and spinal cord, which tell your muscles how to function. This causes them to weaken and stiffen gradually and typically impacts how you walk, talk, eat and breathe. It is a quite uncommon disease that is most common in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be impacted. An individual's chance in their life of contracting MND is 1 out of 300. Approximately 5,000 adults in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment. Researchers are uncertain what causes MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and additional environmental influences. 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. What are the First Signs of the Disease? MND affects everyone differently. Not all individuals has the identical signs, or encounters them in the identical sequence. The condition can progress at varying rates too. Some of the most common indicators are: loss of muscle strength and cramps stiff joints problems with your speech complications involving ingesting, eating and taking fluids reduced cough reflex Does There Exist a Treatment? There is no cure, but there is hope coming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND. MND is not one disease - it is actually several 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 shown to slow - and in certain instances even reverse - some of the manifestations of MND. It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of hope" for the entire condition. Although the medication has recently received approval in the EU, it is not currently accessible in the UK. Just one drug presently approved for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS. Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the condition and increase survival by a few months, but it does not reverse damage. Determining Life Expectancy for MND? Some people can live for many years with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and survived until 76. But for the majority, the illness advances rapidly and life expectancy is just a few years. Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition kills a third of individuals within a year and more than half within 24 months of identification. As the nerve cells stop working, ingestion and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them remain living. Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis? The precise reason has not yet been found, but elite athletes seem overrepresented by MND. A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an elevated chance of developing MND. A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow including 400 former Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of acquiring the condition. Scientists also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have physiological variations that could render them more susceptible to developing MND. The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between collision sports and MND. It noted that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the disease. The charity also stresses that "documented MND cases in this research is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misunderstood if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence". Several prominent sports figures have been identified with the condition in recent years. This encompasses ex- rugby internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes. Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the disease at the age of 39.