🔗 Share this article What is Motor Neurone Disease and Do Sportspeople More Likely to Be Diagnosed? Motor neurone disease affects nerve cells found in the cerebrum and spinal cord, which tell your muscle tissue what to do. This causes them to lose strength and stiffen over time and usually affects how you walk, speak, consume food and respire. This is a relatively rare disease that is most frequent in people over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be impacted. An individual's chance in their life of developing MND is 1 out of 300. About five thousand adults in the UK will have the disease at any given moment. 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 mother and father when you are born, and additional lifestyle factors. For up to one in 10 individuals with MND, specific genes are far more significant. Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness 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 progress at varying rates too. Among the most frequent indicators are: loss of muscle strength and cramps rigid articulations difficulties in your speech complications involving swallowing, consuming food and drinking weakened coughing Is There a Treatment? There is no cure, but there is optimism stemming from therapies focused on various types of MND. MND is not one disease - it is actually multiple that culminate in the death of motor neurones. A new drug known as tofersen is effective in just 2% of patients, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in some cases even undo - some of the symptoms of MND. It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease. Although the drug has recently been approved 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 may slow down the advancement of the disease and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse harm. What is Survival Rate for MND? Some people can survive for decades with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and lived to 76. But for most, the disease advances rapidly and survival time is only several years. According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease 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 breathing apparatus to help them remain living. Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed? The exact cause has not been identified, but elite athletes seem overrepresented by MND. Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an elevated chance of developing MND. Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow involving four hundred ex- Scotland rugby union players determined they had an increased risk of acquiring the condition. Researchers additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have experienced repeated head injuries 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 noted that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not prove the sports directly caused the disease. The charity also emphasises that "reported MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence". Multiple high-profile athletes have been identified with the disease in the past few years. This encompasses ex- rugby union internationals, soccer players, and cricket athletes. In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease aged 39.