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MND impacts nerves found in the cerebrum and spine, that instruct your muscle tissue how to function.

This causes them to lose strength and stiffen over time and usually affects your walking, speak, eat and respire.

This is a relatively rare condition that is most common in people over 50, but grown-ups of all ages can be impacted.

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

About 5,000 adults in the UK will have the disease at any given moment.

Researchers are not sure what causes MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genes - or biological traits - you inherit from your mother and father when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors.

For up to 10% of people with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.

Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness in such instances.

What are the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can advance at different speeds too.

Among the most frequent signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• stiff joints
• problems with how you speak
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• weakened coughing

Is There a Cure?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is hope coming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND.

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

A new drug known as tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even undo - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

It has been referred to as "truly remarkable" and a "real moment of optimism" for the entire condition.

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

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

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

What is Survival Rate for MND?

Some people can live for many years with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for most, the disease advances rapidly and life expectancy is only several years.

Based on the charity MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a third of individuals within a year and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, ingestion and respiration become increasingly difficult and many people need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them remain living.

Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk 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 showed that professional footballers have an increased risk of contracting MND.

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow including 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of acquiring the condition.

Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have physiological variations that may make them more prone to developing MND.

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

It added that while the athletes researched were more likely to acquire MND, it did not show the athletic activities directly caused the condition.

The organization also stresses that "reported MND instances in this research is remains quite small, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is merely a cluster due to statistical coincidence".

Several prominent sports figures have been identified with the disease in the past few years.

This encompasses ex- rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the condition at the age of 39.