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MND impacts nerves found in the cerebrum and spine, that instruct your muscles what to do.

This causes them to weaken and become rigid over time and typically impacts your walking, talk, eat and respire.

It is a quite uncommon condition that is most common in individuals above age fifty, but adults of any age can be impacted.

An individual's lifetime risk of contracting MND is one in 300.

About 5,000 adults in the UK will have the disease at any one time.

Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your mother and father when you are born, and additional lifestyle factors.

In as many as 10% of people with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.

There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.

What are the First Signs of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The disease can advance at different speeds too.

Among the most common signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• stiff joints
• difficulties in how you speak
• complications involving ingesting, consuming food and taking fluids
• weakened coughing

Is There a Cure?

No cure, but there is hope stemming from treatments focused on various types of MND.

MND is not a single illness - it is really multiple that culminate in the death of nerve cells.

An innovative medication called tofersen works in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in certain instances even undo - a portion of the manifestations of MND.

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

Although the medication has recently been approved 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 progression of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse harm.

Determining Survival Rate for MND?

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

But for the majority, the disease advances rapidly and life expectancy is just a few years.

According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a third of individuals within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells stop working, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?

The precise reason has not been identified, but elite athletes appear overrepresented by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that professional footballers have an elevated chance of developing MND.

A 2022 study by the Glasgow University involving four hundred ex- Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an increased risk of developing the condition.

Scientists also found that rugby players who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that may make them more susceptible to contracting MND.

The MND Association acknowledges 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 show the athletic activities directly led to the condition.

The charity also emphasises that "documented MND cases in this research is still relatively low, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

Several prominent athletes have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.

These include former rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition at the age of 39.