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MND affects nerves found in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscles how to function.

This causes them to weaken and become rigid over time and typically impacts how you walk, speak, consume food and breathe.

It is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in people over 50, but adults of any age can be affected.

An individual's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300.

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

Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genetic material - or biological traits - you get from your parents 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 Condition?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The disease can progress at varying rates too.

Some of the most common signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• stiff joints
• difficulties in your speech
• complications involving ingesting, eating and taking fluids
• weakened coughing

Does There Exist a Cure?

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

MND is not a single illness - it is actually several that result in the death of nerve cells.

A new drug called tofersen works in just 2% of individuals, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in certain instances even reverse - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of optimism" for the entire condition.

Even though the medication has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not yet available in the UK.

Just one pharmaceutical presently approved for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

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

Determining 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 survived until 76.

But for the majority, the disease advances rapidly and survival time is only several years.

Based on the charity MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a year and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.

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

Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?

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

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an increased risk of developing MND.

Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University involving four hundred former Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of developing the disease.

Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more susceptible 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 acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the disease.

The charity also emphasises that "documented MND instances 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 statistical coincidence".

Multiple high-profile sports figures have been identified with the condition in recent years.

This encompasses ex- rugby players, footballers, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the disease at the age of 39.