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Motor neurone disease affects nerves located in the cerebrum and spine, which tell your muscle tissue what to do.

This causes them to lose strength and become rigid over time and typically impacts your walking, speak, eat and breathe.

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

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

About five thousand adults in the UK will have the condition at any one time.

Scientists are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genes - or biological traits - you inherit from your mother and father when you are born, and other lifestyle factors.

For up to 10% of individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

Typically there is a hereditary background of the disease in such instances.

What are the First Signs of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

Not all individuals has the identical signs, or encounters them in the identical sequence.

The disease can advance at different speeds too.

Among the most frequent signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• stiff joints
• problems with how you speak
• complications involving ingesting, eating and drinking
• weakened coughing

Does There Exist a Cure?

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

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

A new drug called tofersen works in only one in 50 patients, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in some cases 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 received approval in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.

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

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

Determining Life Expectancy 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 survived until 76.

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

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a year and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and breathing become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.

Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?

The precise reason has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople appear overrepresented by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an elevated chance of developing MND.

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

Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have biological differences that may make them more prone to developing MND.

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

It noted that while the athletes studied were more likely to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly caused the condition.

The organization also stresses that "reported MND instances in these studies is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is simply a grouping due to random chance".

Multiple high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with the disease in recent years.

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

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the disease at the age of 39.