🔗 Share this article What is MND and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Receive a Diagnosis? MND affects nerve cells found in the cerebrum and spine, which tell your muscle tissue what to do. This causes them to lose strength and stiffen over time and typically impacts your walking, speak, consume food and respire. This is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in people above age fifty, but grown-ups of any age can be impacted. A person's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300. Approximately 5,000 adults in the UK are living with the disease at any given moment. Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you get from your parents when you are born, and other lifestyle factors. In as many as 10% of individuals with MND, specific genes are far more significant. Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness in such instances. What are the First Signs of the Disease? MND affects everyone differently. Not everyone has the identical signs, or encounters them in the identical sequence. The disease can advance at different speeds too. Among the most common signs are: muscle weakness and muscle spasms rigid articulations difficulties in your speech issues with swallowing, eating and drinking reduced cough reflex Is There a Cure? No definitive treatment, but there is optimism coming from treatments focused on various types of MND. MND is not a single illness - it is really multiple that culminate in the death of nerve cells. An innovative medication called tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been demonstrated 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. Even though the medication has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not yet available 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 progression of the disease and prolong life by a few months, but it cannot repair damage. What is Life Expectancy for MND? Some people can survive for decades with MND, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and survived until 76. But for the majority, the illness progresses quickly and life expectancy is just a few years. Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a third of people within a year and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis. As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive. Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis? The exact cause has not yet been found, but elite athletes appear disproportionately affected by MND. A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND. A 2022 study by the Glasgow University including four hundred former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an increased risk of developing the condition. Scientists also found that rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have biological differences that may make them more prone to developing MND. The MND Association recognizes there is a "correlation" between contact sports and MND. It added that while the sportspeople studied were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not show the athletic activities directly led to the disease. The charity also stresses that "reported 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 random chance". Several prominent athletes have been diagnosed with the condition in the past few years. These include ex- rugby players, footballers, and cricket athletes. Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition aged 39.