What is MND and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Be Diagnosed?
MND affects nerves found in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscles what to do.
This causes them to weaken and become rigid over time and usually affects how you walk, talk, consume food and respire.
It is a quite uncommon disease that is most frequent in people over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be impacted.
An individual's chance in their life of developing MND is 1 out of 300.
About five thousand people in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.
Researchers are uncertain what causes MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you get from your mother and father when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors.
For up to 10% of individuals with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.
Typically there is a hereditary background of the disease in these cases.
What are the Early Symptoms of the Condition?
MND affects everyone differently.
Not everyone has the same symptoms, or experiences them in the same order.
The disease can advance at varying rates too.
Among the most common indicators are:
- muscle weakness and cramps
- rigid articulations
- problems with how you speak
- complications involving swallowing, eating and drinking
- reduced cough reflex
Does There Exist a Treatment?
There is no definitive treatment, but there is optimism stemming from therapies focused on various types of MND.
MND is not a single illness - it is actually several that culminate in the death of motor neurones.
An innovative medication called tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in some cases even undo - a portion of the manifestations of MND.
It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of hope" for the whole disease.
Although the medication has recently been approved in the European Union, it is not yet available in the UK.
Just one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the condition and prolong life by several months, but it cannot repair damage.
Determining Survival Rate for MND?
Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and lived to 76.
But for most, the disease advances rapidly and survival time is just a few years.
Based on the charity MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a one-third of people within a twelve months and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis.
As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them remain living.
Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?
The exact cause has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople seem disproportionately affected by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND.
A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow including four hundred former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the condition.
Scientists additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that may make them more susceptible to developing MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between collision sports and MND.
It added that while the athletes researched were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not show the sports directly led to the disease.
The organization also emphasises that "reported MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a grouping due to random chance".
Multiple prominent athletes have been diagnosed with the disease in recent years.
These include former rugby union players, footballers, and cricketers.
In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the disease aged 39.
