What is MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?
Motor neurone disease impacts nerve cells located in the brain and spine, that instruct your muscles how to function.
This leads them to lose strength and become rigid gradually and usually affects your walking, talk, consume food and respire.
It is a relatively rare disease that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be affected.
A person's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300.
Approximately 5,000 people in the UK will have the condition at any one time.
Scientists are not sure what causes MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your mother and father when you are delivered, and other lifestyle factors.
For up to 10% of people with MND, specific genes are far more significant.
There is usually a family history of the illness in such instances.
Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?
MND affects everyone differently.
Not all individuals has the identical signs, or encounters them in the same order.
The condition can progress at different speeds too.
Some of the most frequent indicators are:
- muscle weakness and muscle spasms
- stiff joints
- difficulties in how you speak
- issues with swallowing, consuming food and drinking
- reduced cough reflex
Does There Exist a Cure?
No definitive treatment, but there is optimism coming from therapies focused on various types of MND.
MND is not one disease - it is actually several that result 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 certain instances even reverse - some of the symptoms of MND.
It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of hope" for the whole disease.
Although the drug has recently been approved in the European Union, it is not currently accessible in the UK.
Just one drug currently licensed for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it cannot repair harm.
What is Survival Rate for MND?
Some people can live for many years with MND, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.
But for most, the disease progresses quickly and life expectancy is only several years.
Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition kills a third of people within a year and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis.
As the neurons stop working, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and many people need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.
Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
The precise reason has not been identified, but elite athletes appear disproportionately affected by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an elevated chance of contracting MND.
A 2022 study by the Glasgow University including four hundred former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an increased risk of acquiring the disease.
Scientists additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have experienced repeated head injuries have biological differences that could render them more prone to contracting MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "link" between contact sports and MND.
It added that while the athletes researched were more likely to develop MND, it did not prove the sports directly caused the disease.
The charity also emphasises that "reported MND cases in these studies is still relatively low, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a cluster due to random chance".
Several high-profile sports figures have been identified with the condition in recent years.
These include ex- rugby union internationals, soccer players, and cricketers.
In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease at the age of 39.
