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MND impacts nerve cells located in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue how to function.

This causes them to lose strength and stiffen gradually and usually affects your walking, talk, consume food and respire.

This is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but adults of all ages can be impacted.

A person's chance in their life of developing MND is one in 300.

About 5,000 people in the UK will have the condition at any one time.

Scientists are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you get from your parents when you are delivered, and other lifestyle factors.

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

Typically there is a hereditary background of the disease in these cases.

Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The disease can progress at different speeds too.

Among the most frequent indicators are:

• muscle weakness and muscle spasms
• stiff joints
• difficulties in your speech
• issues with swallowing, eating and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Cure?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is optimism stemming from treatments focused on different forms of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is really multiple 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 decelerate - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the manifestations of MND.

It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of optimism" for the whole disease.

Although the drug has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

There is only one drug currently licensed 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 a few months, but it does not reverse harm.

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 twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the disease advances rapidly and life expectancy is just a few years.

Based on the charity MND Association, the condition kills a one-third of individuals within a year and more than half within two years of diagnosis.

As the neurons cease functioning, swallowing and breathing become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them remain living.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The precise reason has not yet been found, but elite athletes seem disproportionately affected by MND.

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND.

A 2022 study by the Glasgow University involving 400 former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Scientists also found that rugby players who have experienced repeated head injuries have biological differences that may make them more prone to contracting MND.

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

It noted that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the sports directly caused the condition.

The charity also emphasises that "documented MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is merely a grouping due to statistical coincidence".

Multiple high-profile sports figures have been diagnosed with the condition in recent years.

These include former rugby players, footballers, and cricketers.

In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the disease aged 39.