Understanding MND and Do Sportspeople More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?
MND impacts nerve cells found in the cerebrum and spinal cord, that instruct your muscles how to function.
This leads them to weaken and stiffen over time and typically impacts how you walk, speak, consume food and respire.
This is a relatively rare disease that is most frequent in individuals above age fifty, but adults of any age can be affected.
A person's chance in their life of developing MND is one in 300.
Approximately 5,000 people in the UK are living with the condition at any one time.
Researchers are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and additional lifestyle factors.
For up to 10% of individuals with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.
Typically there is a hereditary background of the disease in these cases.
Identifying the First Signs of the Disease?
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:
- muscle weakness and muscle spasms
- rigid articulations
- difficulties in how you speak
- complications involving ingesting, eating and drinking
- weakened coughing
Does There Exist a Treatment?
No definitive treatment, but there is hope stemming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND.
MND is not a single illness - it is really multiple that culminate in the death of nerve cells.
An innovative medication known as tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in certain instances even undo - a portion of the symptoms of MND.
It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of optimism" for the entire condition.
Even though the medication has recently been approved in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.
There is only one pharmaceutical presently approved for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the condition and prolong life by several months, but it does not reverse damage.
What is Life Expectancy for MND?
Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76.
But for most, the illness advances rapidly and survival time is just a few years.
According to the charity MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of people within a twelve months and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.
As the neurons cease functioning, ingestion and breathing become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them remain living.
Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?
The exact cause has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople seem disproportionately affected by MND.
A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an elevated chance of developing MND.
A 2022 study by the Glasgow University involving four hundred ex- Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an increased risk of developing the disease.
Scientists also found that rugby athletes who have suffered multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more susceptible to developing MND.
The MND Association recognizes there is a "link" between collision sports and MND.
It added that while the athletes researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the condition.
The charity also emphasises that "documented MND cases in these studies is still relatively low, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is merely a cluster due to statistical coincidence".
Several high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with the condition in recent years.
This encompasses ex- rugby internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes.
Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the condition at the age of 39.
