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Motor neurone disease impacts nerve cells found in the cerebrum and spine, that instruct your muscles what to do.

This causes them to lose strength and become rigid gradually and usually affects how you walk, speak, eat and respire.

This is a quite uncommon disease that is most frequent in people over 50, but grown-ups of all ages can be affected.

A person's lifetime risk of contracting MND is one in 300.

Approximately five thousand adults in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.

Scientists are not sure the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your mother and father when you are born, and additional lifestyle factors.

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

Typically there is a family history of the disease in these cases.

Identifying the First Signs of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can progress at different speeds too.

Among the most common signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with your speech
• complications involving swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• weakened coughing

Is There a Treatment?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is hope stemming from treatments focused on various types of MND.

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

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

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

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

There is only one drug currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the disease and increase survival by a few months, but it does not reverse harm.

Determining 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 survived until 76.

But for most, the illness progresses quickly and life expectancy is only several years.

According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a one-third of individuals within a twelve months and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.

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

Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?

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

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

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow including four hundred ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the condition.

Researchers also found that rugby players who have experienced repeated head injuries have biological differences that could render them more susceptible to developing MND.

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

It noted that while the athletes researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the condition.

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 misunderstood if this is merely a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

Several high-profile sports figures have been diagnosed with the condition in the past few years.

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

Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the disease aged 39.