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MND affects nerve cells located in the cerebrum and spinal cord, which tell your muscles what to do.

This leads them to weaken and stiffen gradually and usually affects your walking, talk, eat and breathe.

This is a quite uncommon disease that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of all ages can be affected.

A person's lifetime risk of contracting MND is one in 300.

Approximately 5,000 people in the UK will have the disease at any one time.

Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genetic material - or biological traits - you get from your mother and father when you are born, and other environmental influences.

In as many as one in 10 individuals with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.

Typically there is a family history of the illness in such instances.

What are the First Signs of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The condition can advance at different speeds too.

Among the most frequent indicators are:

• loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
• stiff joints
• difficulties in your speech
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Does There Exist a Cure?

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

MND is not one disease - it is actually several that culminate in the demise of nerve cells.

An innovative medication called tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in certain instances even undo - some of the symptoms of MND.

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

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

There is only one pharmaceutical presently approved for the management of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

Determining Survival Rate for MND?

Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

But for most, the disease progresses quickly and life expectancy is just a few years.

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a third of people within a twelve months and more than half within 24 months of identification.

As the neurons cease functioning, ingestion and breathing become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes 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 overrepresented by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 indicated that professional footballers have an increased risk of contracting MND.

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow including 400 ex- Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the condition.

Scientists additionally discovered that rugby players who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that could render them more susceptible to contracting MND.

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

It added that while the athletes researched were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not show the athletic activities directly caused the condition.

The organization also stresses that "reported MND cases in this research is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is merely a cluster due to random chance".

Multiple prominent athletes have been identified with the disease in the past few years.

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

Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the disease aged 39.