Understanding MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

MND impacts nerves located in the brain and spine, which tell your muscles how to function.

This leads them to lose strength and become rigid over time and typically impacts how you walk, talk, consume food and breathe.

It is a relatively rare disease that is most frequent in people above age fifty, but grown-ups of any age can be impacted.

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

About five thousand adults in the UK will have the condition at any given moment.

Scientists are not sure the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and other lifestyle factors.

In as many as one in 10 people with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

There is usually a family history of the disease in such instances.

What are the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can advance at different speeds too.

Some of the most frequent signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• stiff joints
• problems with your speech
• issues with swallowing, eating and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Cure?

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

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

A new drug called tofersen is effective in just 2% of patients, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in certain instances even undo - some of the symptoms of MND.

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

Even though the medication has recently been approved in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

Just one drug 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 increase survival by several months, but it does not reverse damage.

What is Life Expectancy for MND?

Some people can live for many years with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for most, the disease advances rapidly and life expectancy is only several years.

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a third of people within a twelve months and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis.

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

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?

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

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

A 2022 study by the Glasgow University including four hundred former Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an higher likelihood of developing the condition.

Scientists also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have physiological variations that may make them more prone to contracting MND.

The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between collision sports and MND.

It added that while the athletes researched were more likely to develop MND, it did not show the athletic activities directly caused the disease.

The charity also stresses that "reported MND instances in these studies is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to random chance".

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

These include former rugby internationals, soccer players, and cricket athletes.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the disease at the age of 39.