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Motor neurone disease affects nerves located in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscle tissue what to do.

This leads them to weaken and become rigid gradually and usually affects how you walk, speak, eat and respire.

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

An individual's chance in their life of contracting MND is one in 300.

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

Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genetic material - or biological traits - you get from your parents when you are born, and additional environmental influences.

In as many as 10% of individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

There is usually a family history of the disease in such instances.

What are the First Signs of the Disease?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The condition can advance at varying rates too.

Some of the most frequent signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with how you speak
• issues with ingesting, consuming food and drinking
• weakened coughing

Does There Exist a Treatment?

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

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

An innovative medication known as tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even undo - some of the symptoms of MND.

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

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

Just one pharmaceutical presently approved for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the condition and increase survival by several months, but it does not reverse damage.

What is Survival Rate for MND?

Some people can survive for decades with MND, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76.

But for the majority, the illness advances rapidly and survival time is just a few 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 nerve cells stop working, ingestion and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them remain living.

Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

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

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

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow involving 400 former Scotland rugby union players determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Scientists also found that rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more prone to contracting MND.

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

It noted that while the athletes researched were more likely to develop MND, it did not show the sports directly led to the condition.

The organization also stresses that "documented MND cases in these studies is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

Several prominent athletes have been diagnosed with the disease in recent years.

These include former rugby players, footballers, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition aged 39.