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Motor neurone disease affects nerve cells located in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscles what to do.

This leads them to weaken and become rigid over time and usually affects how you walk, talk, eat and breathe.

This is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in people above age fifty, but adults of any age can be affected.

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

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

Scientists are uncertain what causes MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genetic material - 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, specific genes play a much larger role.

There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in such instances.

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The condition can progress at different speeds too.

Among the most common signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with how you speak
• issues with ingesting, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Cure?

No cure, but there is hope stemming from therapies focused on various types of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is actually several that result in the demise of motor neurones.

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

It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of hope" for the entire condition.

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

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

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the disease and increase survival by several months, but it cannot repair harm.

Determining Life Expectancy for MND?

Some people can live for many years with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and survived until 76.

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

Based on the charity MND Association, the condition kills a third of individuals within a twelve months and over 50% within two years of identification.

As the neurons cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but top-level sportspeople appear disproportionately affected by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an elevated chance of developing MND.

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow involving 400 former Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an increased risk of acquiring the disease.

Scientists also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have biological differences that may make them more prone to developing MND.

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

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

The organization also emphasises that "documented MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is merely a grouping due to random chance".

Multiple high-profile sports figures have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.

These include ex- rugby players, soccer players, and cricket athletes.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the condition aged 39.