Understanding MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?
MND affects nerve cells located in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscle tissue how to function.
This causes them to weaken and stiffen over time and typically impacts your walking, talk, eat and respire.
It is a relatively rare condition that is most frequent in people over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be affected.
A person's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300.
Approximately 5,000 adults in the UK are living with the condition at any one time.
Researchers are uncertain what causes MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors.
In as many as 10% of individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.
Typically there is a family history of the illness in such instances.
Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?
MND affects everyone differently.
Not everyone has the same symptoms, or experiences them in the identical sequence.
The disease can advance at different speeds too.
Some of the most common indicators are:
- muscle weakness and muscle spasms
- rigid articulations
- difficulties in your speech
- issues with ingesting, eating and taking fluids
- reduced cough reflex
Is There a Cure?
No definitive treatment, but there is hope coming from therapies targeted at various types of MND.
MND is not a single illness - it is actually multiple that result in the death of nerve cells.
An innovative medication called tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in certain instances 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 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 endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the condition and prolong life by several months, but it does not reverse harm.
Determining Life Expectancy for MND?
Certain individuals can live for many years with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and lived to 76.
But for the majority, the disease progresses quickly and survival time is only several years.
Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of people within a year and more than half within 24 months of identification.
As the neurons cease functioning, swallowing and breathing become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.
Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
The exact cause has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople seem overrepresented by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that professional footballers have an elevated chance of developing MND.
A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow including four hundred former Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an higher likelihood of developing the condition.
Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that could render them more prone to contracting MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "link" between contact sports and MND.
It added that while the sportspeople researched were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the disease.
The organization also stresses that "reported MND instances in this research is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is merely a grouping due to statistical coincidence".
Multiple high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with the condition in the past few years.
This encompasses ex- rugby union players, soccer players, and cricketers.
In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease aged 39.