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Motor neurone disease impacts nerves found in the brain and spine, which tell your muscles what to do.

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

This is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in individuals above age fifty, but adults of all ages can be affected.

A person's chance in their life of contracting MND is one in 300.

About 5,000 people in the UK will have the condition at any one time.

Researchers are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you get from your mother and father when you are born, and additional environmental influences.

In as many as 10% of individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

Typically there is a hereditary background of the disease in these cases.

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND affects everyone differently.

Not all individuals has the identical signs, or encounters them in the same order.

The disease can advance at varying rates too.

Among the most common signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• stiff joints
• problems with your speech
• complications involving ingesting, consuming food and drinking
• reduced cough reflex

Does There Exist a Treatment?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is hope stemming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND.

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

A new drug known as tofersen is effective in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in certain instances even reverse - some of the manifestations of MND.

It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of hope" for the whole disease.

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

Just one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

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

What is Life Expectancy for MND?

Some people can survive for decades with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

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

According to the charity MND Association, the condition kills a one-third of individuals within a twelve months and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells stop working, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them remain living.

Are Athletes More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The precise reason has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople appear overrepresented by MND.

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

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow including four hundred former Scotland rugby union players determined they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the condition.

Researchers additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have suffered multiple concussions have physiological variations that could render them more susceptible to contracting MND.

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

It noted that while the sportspeople studied were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not show the athletic activities directly led to the disease.

The organization also stresses that "reported MND instances in this research is remains quite small, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a grouping due to statistical coincidence".

Several high-profile sports figures have been identified with the condition in the past few years.

These include former rugby union players, footballers, and cricket athletes.

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