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MND impacts nerve cells located in the brain and spine, that instruct your muscles what to do.

This causes them to weaken and become rigid over time and typically impacts how you walk, speak, consume food and respire.

It is a relatively rare disease that is most common in individuals above age fifty, but grown-ups of all ages can be affected.

An individual's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300.

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

Researchers are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are born, and additional environmental influences.

In as many as one in 10 people with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.

Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can progress at varying rates too.

Among the most frequent signs are:

• muscle weakness and muscle spasms
• rigid articulations
• problems with how you speak
• complications involving swallowing, eating and drinking
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Treatment?

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

MND is not one disease - it is really several that culminate in the death of motor neurones.

An innovative medication called tofersen works in only one in 50 patients, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in some cases even undo - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of hope" for the entire condition.

Even though the drug has recently received approval in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.

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

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

What is Life Expectancy for MND?

Some people can survive for decades with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

But for most, the disease advances rapidly and survival time is just a few years.

According to the charity MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of people within a year and over 50% within two years of identification.

As the nerve cells stop working, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and many people need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?

The exact cause has not been identified, but elite athletes seem overrepresented by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an increased risk of developing MND.

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the condition.

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

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

It noted that while the athletes studied were more likely to develop MND, it did not prove the sports directly caused the disease.

The organization also stresses that "reported MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to random chance".

Several high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.

This encompasses former rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricketers.

In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease aged 39.