What is MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

MND impacts nerve cells found in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue what to do.

This leads them to lose strength and stiffen over time and typically impacts your walking, talk, eat and respire.

It is a relatively rare condition that is most frequent in individuals above age fifty, but adults of any age can be impacted.

A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is 1 out of 300.

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

Researchers are not sure the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and additional environmental influences.

In as many as one in 10 people with MND, specific genes are far more significant.

Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.

What are the First Signs of the Condition?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can progress at varying rates too.

Among the most common indicators are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with your speech
• complications involving ingesting, consuming food and drinking
• weakened coughing

Is There a Treatment?

No cure, but there is hope stemming from therapies targeted at various types of MND.

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

A new drug known as tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even undo - some of the symptoms of MND.

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

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

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

Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

Determining Life Expectancy for MND?

Certain individuals can live for many years with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and survived until 76.

But for the majority, the disease advances rapidly and survival time is just a few years.

According to the charity MND Association, the disease kills a third of individuals within a year and more than half within two years of identification.

As the nerve cells stop working, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them remain living.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but elite athletes seem overrepresented by MND.

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

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow including 400 former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the condition.

Researchers additionally discovered that rugby players who have experienced 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 more likely to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the disease.

The charity also stresses that "documented MND cases in these studies is remains quite small, and so determining there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is simply a grouping due to random chance".

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

These include ex- rugby internationals, footballers, and cricketers.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition aged 39.