🔗 Share this article What is MND and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Be Diagnosed? Motor neurone disease affects nerve cells located in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscle tissue how to function. This leads them to weaken and stiffen gradually and usually affects your walking, speak, consume food and breathe. This is a quite uncommon disease that is most common in people over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be impacted. A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is 1 out of 300. About five thousand adults in the UK will have the condition at any given moment. Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your mother and father when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors. For up to 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 Disease? MND impacts each person uniquely. Not all individuals has the identical signs, or experiences them in the same order. The condition can progress at varying rates too. Some of the most common indicators are: muscle weakness and muscle spasms rigid articulations difficulties in your speech issues with swallowing, consuming food and drinking reduced cough reflex Is There a Cure? No definitive treatment, but there is hope stemming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND. MND is not one disease - it is actually multiple that result in the death of nerve cells. A new drug known as tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in some cases even reverse - some of the manifestations of MND. It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of hope" for the whole disease. Although the drug has recently been approved in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK. Just one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS. Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it cannot repair damage. What is Life Expectancy 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 the majority, the disease progresses quickly and life expectancy is just a few 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 24 months of diagnosis. As the neurons cease functioning, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive. Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed? The precise reason has not yet been found, but elite athletes appear disproportionately affected by MND. Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND. Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University involving 400 former Scotland rugby union players determined they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the disease. Scientists additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have biological differences that may make them more prone to contracting MND. The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between collision sports and MND. It added that while the sportspeople studied were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the disease. The charity also stresses that "reported MND instances in these studies is still relatively low, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a grouping due to statistical coincidence". Multiple prominent athletes have been identified with the condition in recent years. These include former rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes. Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the condition aged 39.