What is MND and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Be Diagnosed?
MND affects nerves located in the brain and spine, that instruct your muscles what to do.
This causes them to weaken and stiffen gradually and typically impacts how you walk, speak, consume food and breathe.
This is a relatively rare disease that is most common in individuals over 50, but adults of any age can be affected.
A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300.
About 5,000 people in the UK are living with the condition at any one time.
Researchers are not sure the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genes - or biological traits - you inherit from your mother and father when you are delivered, and other lifestyle factors.
In as many as 10% of individuals with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.
There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in such instances.
Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?
MND affects everyone differently.
Not all individuals has the same symptoms, or encounters them in the identical sequence.
The condition can advance at different speeds too.
Among the most common indicators are:
- muscle weakness and muscle spasms
- stiff joints
- problems with your speech
- complications involving swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
- weakened coughing
Does There Exist a Treatment?
There is no cure, but there is hope coming from treatments targeted at various types of MND.
MND is not one disease - it is actually several that result in the demise of motor neurones.
A new drug known as tofersen works in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the manifestations of MND.
It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease.
Although the drug has recently received approval in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.
Just one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the disease and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.
What is Life Expectancy for MND?
Some people can survive for decades with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and survived until 76.
But for the majority, the illness advances rapidly and survival time is just a few years.
According to the charity MND Association, the disease kills a third of people within a twelve months and over 50% within 24 months of identification.
As the nerve cells stop working, ingestion and breathing become increasingly difficult and many people need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.
Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?
The precise reason 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 University of Glasgow involving four hundred former Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an increased risk of acquiring the condition.
Scientists additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have biological differences 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 sportspeople studied were more likely to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the condition.
The organization also stresses that "documented MND cases in these studies is remains quite small, and so determining there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to random chance".
Multiple high-profile sports figures have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.
These include former rugby union players, soccer players, and cricketers.
In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition aged 39.
