Understanding MND and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Be Diagnosed?

MND impacts nerves located in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue what to do.

This causes them to lose strength and become rigid gradually and usually affects your walking, speak, consume food and breathe.

This is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but adults of any age can be impacted.

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

Approximately five thousand people in the UK are living with the condition at any one time.

Scientists are uncertain the cause of 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 other environmental influences.

In as many as one in 10 people with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.

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

What are the First Signs of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The condition can progress at different speeds too.

Among the most frequent signs are:

• muscle weakness and muscle spasms
• rigid articulations
• problems with your speech
• complications involving swallowing, eating and drinking
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Treatment?

No cure, but there is hope coming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND.

MND is not a single illness - it is actually several that result in the demise of motor neurones.

A new drug known as tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even reverse - some of the symptoms of MND.

It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" 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.

There is only one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the disease and increase survival by a few months, but it cannot repair harm.

What is Survival Rate for MND?

Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for most, the illness advances rapidly and life expectancy is only several years.

According to the charity MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a one-third of people within a twelve months and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.

As the neurons stop working, ingestion and breathing become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but top-level sportspeople seem disproportionately affected by MND.

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

Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Scientists additionally discovered that rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more susceptible to developing MND.

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

It added that while the sportspeople researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly led to the disease.

The organization also stresses that "documented MND cases in these studies is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a grouping due to random chance".

Several prominent sports figures have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.

This encompasses former rugby internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes.

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the condition at the age of 39.