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Motor neurone disease impacts nerves located in the cerebrum and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue what to do.

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

This is a relatively rare condition that is most frequent in people above age fifty, but grown-ups of all ages can be affected.

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

Approximately 5,000 adults in the UK will have the condition at any one time.

Scientists are uncertain what causes MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genes - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors.

For up to one in 10 individuals with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.

Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness in such instances.

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

Not all individuals has the same symptoms, or encounters them in the identical sequence.

The disease can advance at varying rates too.

Among the most frequent indicators are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• stiff joints
• problems with how you speak
• complications involving ingesting, eating and taking fluids
• weakened coughing

Is There a Treatment?

No definitive treatment, but there is optimism stemming from therapies focused on different forms of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is really several that result in the demise of motor neurones.

An innovative medication known as tofersen works in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in some cases even reverse - some of the manifestations of MND.

It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease.

Although the drug has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

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

Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the condition and prolong life by several 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 twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the illness progresses quickly and survival time is just a few years.

According to the charity MND Association, the disease kills a third of people within a year and more than half within 24 months of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them remain living.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

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

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

A 2022 study by the Glasgow University including 400 former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an increased risk of acquiring the disease.

Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that could render them more susceptible to developing MND.

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

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

The organization also stresses that "documented MND cases in these studies is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is merely a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

Several high-profile athletes have been identified with the condition in recent years.

This encompasses ex- rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease at the age of 39.