🔗 Share this article What is MND and Do Sportspeople At Higher Risk to Be Diagnosed? MND affects nerves located in the cerebrum and spine, that instruct your muscles how to function. This leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and typically impacts your walking, speak, consume food and respire. This is a quite uncommon disease that is most frequent in people above age fifty, but grown-ups of any age can be impacted. An individual's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300. Approximately 5,000 people in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment. Scientists are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genes - or biological traits - you inherit from your mother and father when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors. For up to one in 10 people with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant. There is usually a family history of the disease in such instances. What are the First Signs of the Condition? MND impacts each person uniquely. Not everyone has the identical signs, or experiences them in the same order. The disease can progress at varying rates too. Some of the most common indicators are: loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms stiff joints difficulties in your speech complications involving swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids weakened coughing Does There Exist a Treatment? No definitive treatment, but there is optimism coming from therapies focused on various types of MND. MND is not one disease - it is actually multiple that result in the demise of motor neurones. A new drug called tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in certain instances even undo - some of the manifestations of MND. It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "significant point of hope" for the whole disease. Although the medication has recently been approved in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK. Just one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the management of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS. Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the disease and increase survival by several months, but it cannot repair harm. What is Life Expectancy for MND? Some people can survive for decades with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76. But for most, the disease progresses quickly and survival time is only several years. Based on the charity MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a third of people within a twelve months and more than half within two years of diagnosis. As the neurons stop working, ingestion and breathing become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them remain living. Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis? The exact cause has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople appear disproportionately affected by MND. A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 indicated that professional footballers have an increased risk of contracting MND. Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow including 400 former Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of developing the condition. Researchers also found that rugby players who have experienced repeated head injuries have physiological variations that may make them more susceptible to contracting MND. The MND Association recognizes there is a "correlation" between contact sports and MND. It noted that while the sportspeople studied were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the condition. The charity also stresses that "reported MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence". Several high-profile sports figures have been diagnosed with the disease in recent years. These include ex- rugby internationals, soccer players, and cricket athletes. Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the condition at the age of 39.