What is MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?
Motor neurone disease affects nerve cells located in the cerebrum and spine, which tell your muscles how to function.
This leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and usually affects how you walk, speak, eat and breathe.
This is a quite uncommon disease that is most common in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of all ages can be impacted.
A person's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300.
Approximately five thousand people in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.
Researchers are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your mother and father when you are born, and other environmental influences.
In as many as 10% of people with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.
There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.
What are the First Signs of the Disease?
MND impacts each person uniquely.
Not everyone has the identical signs, or encounters them in the same order.
The disease can advance at varying rates too.
Among the most frequent indicators are:
- loss of muscle strength and cramps
- rigid articulations
- problems with how you speak
- complications involving swallowing, eating and drinking
- reduced cough reflex
Does There Exist a Treatment?
There is no definitive treatment, but there is optimism stemming from therapies targeted at various types of MND.
MND is not one disease - it is really several that culminate in the death of nerve cells.
An innovative medication called tofersen works in only one in 50 patients, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even undo - some of the manifestations of MND.
It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of hope" for the whole disease.
Although the medication has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK.
Just one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the disease and increase survival by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.
What is Life Expectancy for MND?
Certain individuals can live for many years with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76.
But for the majority, the illness progresses quickly and survival time is just a few years.
Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a one-third of individuals within a twelve months and over 50% within two years of identification.
As the neurons cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.
Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
The exact cause has not been identified, but elite athletes seem disproportionately affected by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND.
A 2022 study by the Glasgow University involving four hundred ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of acquiring the condition.
Scientists also found that rugby players who have experienced multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more prone to contracting MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between contact sports and MND.
It added that while the sportspeople researched were more likely to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly caused the condition.
The charity also stresses that "documented MND instances in these studies is remains quite small, and so determining there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is merely a cluster due to statistical coincidence".
Multiple prominent sports figures have been identified with the disease in recent years.
These include ex- rugby players, footballers, and cricketers.
Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition aged 39.
