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MND impacts nerves located in the cerebrum and spine, which tell your muscle tissue how to function.

This causes them to lose strength and become rigid over time and typically impacts your walking, talk, eat and respire.

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

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

Approximately five thousand people in the UK will have the condition at any given moment.

Researchers are not sure the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you get from your mother and father when you are born, and other environmental influences.

In as many as one in 10 individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

There is usually a family history of the illness in these cases.

Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can advance at varying rates too.

Some of the most common signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with your speech
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Cure?

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

MND is not a single illness - it is really multiple that result in the demise of nerve cells.

A new drug called tofersen works in just 2% of individuals, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in some cases 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.

Even though the drug has recently been approved in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

There is only one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the condition and increase survival by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

Determining Life Expectancy for MND?

Some people can live for many years with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76.

But for most, the disease progresses quickly and life expectancy is only several years.

According to the non-profit MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a year and over 50% within two years of identification.

As the neurons stop working, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and many people need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them remain living.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but top-level sportspeople appear disproportionately affected by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an increased risk of developing MND.

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow including four hundred former Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Scientists also found that rugby athletes who have experienced repeated head injuries have physiological variations that may make them more prone to developing MND.

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

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

The charity also emphasises that "documented MND cases in this research is remains quite small, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a grouping due to statistical coincidence".

Several prominent sports figures have been diagnosed with the condition in the past few years.

These include ex- rugby internationals, soccer players, and cricketers.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease aged 39.