Understanding Motor Neurone Disease and Do Sportspeople At Higher Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
MND impacts nerves found in the brain and spine, that instruct your muscles what to do.
This leads them to weaken and become rigid gradually and usually affects how you walk, speak, consume food and breathe.
This is a relatively rare disease that is most common in people over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be affected.
An individual's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300.
About 5,000 people in the UK will have the disease at any one time.
Researchers are not sure the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you get from your mother and father when you are born, and other environmental influences.
In as many as one in 10 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 Early Symptoms of the Disease?
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 frequent signs are:
- loss of muscle strength and cramps
- rigid articulations
- problems with your speech
- complications involving ingesting, consuming food and taking fluids
- reduced cough reflex
Is There a Treatment?
No definitive treatment, but there is optimism stemming from therapies focused on various types of MND.
MND is not one disease - it is actually multiple that result in the demise of nerve cells.
An innovative medication known as tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even reverse - some of the manifestations of MND.
It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of optimism" for the entire condition.
Although the drug has recently received approval in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.
There is only one pharmaceutical presently approved for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the disease and prolong life by several months, but it cannot repair damage.
What is 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 advances rapidly and survival time is only several years.
According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a year and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis.
As the nerve cells stop working, ingestion and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them remain living.
Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?
The exact cause has not yet been found, but elite athletes appear disproportionately affected by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an elevated chance of developing MND.
Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University including 400 ex- Scotland rugby union players determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the condition.
Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have biological differences that may make them more susceptible to developing MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between contact sports and MND.
It added that while the athletes studied were more likely to develop MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the disease.
The organization also emphasises that "documented MND instances in these studies is still relatively low, and so determining 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 identified with the disease in recent years.
This encompasses former rugby internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes.
Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the condition at the age of 39.
