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Motor neurone disease impacts nerve cells located in the brain and spine, which tell your muscles what to do.

This causes them to lose strength and stiffen over time and typically impacts how you walk, talk, eat and respire.

It is a relatively rare condition that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of all ages can be impacted.

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

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

Scientists are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genes - or biological traits - you get from your parents when you are born, and additional lifestyle factors.

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

Typically there is a family history of the illness in such instances.

What are the Early Symptoms of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

Not all individuals has the same symptoms, or experiences them in the same order.

The disease can advance at varying rates too.

Among the most frequent indicators are:

• loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
• stiff joints
• problems with how you speak
• complications involving swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• weakened coughing

Does There Exist a Cure?

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

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

A new drug called tofersen works in just 2% of patients, however it has been shown to slow - and in certain instances even reverse - a portion of the manifestations 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 been approved in the European Union, 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 could decelerate the advancement of the disease and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

Determining Survival Rate for MND?

Certain individuals can live for many years with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the disease progresses quickly and survival time is just a few years.

According to the charity MND Association, the condition kills a one-third of individuals within a year and over 50% within 24 months of identification.

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

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but elite athletes appear overrepresented by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an elevated chance of developing MND.

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

Researchers additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that may make 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 more likely to acquire MND, it did not show the athletic activities directly caused the condition.

The organization also emphasises that "documented MND cases in these studies is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misunderstood if this is merely a grouping due to random chance".

Multiple high-profile athletes have been identified with the disease in the past few years.

This encompasses ex- rugby internationals, footballers, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the condition aged 39.