What is Motor Neurone Disease and Do Sportspeople More Likely to Be Diagnosed?
Motor neurone disease impacts nerves found in the brain and spinal cord, which tell your muscles what to do.
This leads them to weaken and become rigid over time and usually affects how you walk, speak, consume food and respire.
It is a relatively rare disease that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but adults of any age can be affected.
An individual's lifetime risk of contracting MND is one in 300.
Approximately five thousand adults in the UK will have the condition at any one time.
Scientists are not sure the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genes - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your mother and father when you are delivered, and other lifestyle factors.
In as many as 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 same symptoms, or encounters them in the same order.
The disease can advance at different speeds too.
Some of the most common signs are:
- loss of muscle strength and cramps
- rigid articulations
- difficulties in how you speak
- complications involving swallowing, eating and drinking
- weakened coughing
Is There a Treatment?
There is no cure, but there is optimism stemming from therapies targeted at various types of MND.
MND is not one disease - it is actually multiple that result in the death of motor neurones.
An innovative medication called tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even reverse - some of the symptoms of MND.
It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of optimism" for the entire condition.
Even though the drug has recently received approval in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.
Just one drug presently approved for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the disease and prolong life by several months, but it does not reverse harm.
What is Survival Rate for MND?
Some people can live for many years with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76.
But for the majority, the disease progresses quickly and survival time is just a few years.
According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a third of individuals within a twelve months and more than half within 24 months of identification.
As the nerve cells stop working, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.
Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?
The precise reason has not been identified, but elite athletes seem disproportionately affected by MND.
A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an elevated chance of developing MND.
Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow including four hundred former Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the disease.
Scientists also found that rugby players who have experienced multiple concussions have biological differences that may make them more prone to contracting MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between contact sports and MND.
It added that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not show the sports directly caused the disease.
The charity also emphasises that "reported 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 grouping due to random chance".
Several prominent sports figures have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.
This encompasses ex- rugby players, footballers, and cricketers.
Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease aged 39.
