Understanding MND and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Be Diagnosed?
MND affects nerve cells located in the brain and spine, that instruct your muscle tissue what to do.
This causes them to lose strength and stiffen over time and typically impacts how you walk, talk, eat and breathe.
It is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in individuals above age fifty, but grown-ups of all ages can be affected.
A person's chance in their life of developing MND is one in 300.
Approximately 5,000 adults in the UK will have the disease at any given moment.
Researchers are uncertain what causes MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your parents when you are born, and additional lifestyle factors.
For up to one in 10 individuals with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.
There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.
Identifying the First Signs of the Disease?
MND impacts each person uniquely.
Not all individuals has the same symptoms, or experiences them in the same order.
The condition can progress at different speeds too.
Among the most frequent indicators are:
- muscle weakness and cramps
- stiff joints
- difficulties in how you speak
- complications involving swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
- weakened coughing
Is There a Treatment?
No definitive treatment, but there is hope coming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND.
MND is not one disease - it is actually several that result in the demise of motor neurones.
An innovative medication called tofersen is effective in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in certain instances even undo - some of the manifestations of MND.
It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease.
Even though 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 management of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.
Riluzole could decelerate 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 survive for decades with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76.
But for most, the illness progresses quickly and life expectancy is just a few years.
Based on 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 stop working, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and many people need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.
Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?
The precise reason has not yet been found, but top-level sportspeople seem overrepresented by MND.
A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND.
A 2022 study by the Glasgow University involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an increased risk of acquiring the disease.
Researchers also found that rugby players who have experienced repeated head injuries have biological differences that may make them more prone to contracting MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between collision sports and MND.
It noted that while the athletes studied were more likely to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly caused the disease.
The organization also emphasises that "reported MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so determining there is a definite increased risk could be misunderstood if this is merely a grouping due to random chance".
Multiple high-profile sports figures have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.
These include ex- rugby players, soccer players, and cricket athletes.
Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the condition at the age of 39.
