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Motor neurone disease affects nerve cells found in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue what to do.

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

This is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in people over 50, but adults of all ages can be impacted.

An individual's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300.

About 5,000 people in the UK will have the condition at any one time.

Scientists are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your parents when you are born, and additional environmental influences.

In as many as 10% of people with MND, specific genes are far more significant.

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

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The disease can progress at varying rates too.

Among the most common signs are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• rigid articulations
• problems with how you speak
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and drinking
• weakened coughing

Is There a Treatment?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is optimism coming from treatments focused on various types of MND.

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

A new drug known as tofersen works in only one in 50 patients, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in certain instances even reverse - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease.

Even though the medication has recently received approval in the EU, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

Just one drug currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

What is Life Expectancy for MND?

Some people can survive for decades with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

But for the majority, the disease advances rapidly and life expectancy is just a few years.

According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a one-third of people within a year and over 50% within two years of identification.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, ingestion and breathing become more challenging and many people need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The precise reason has not been identified, but elite athletes appear overrepresented by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 indicated that professional footballers have an increased risk of contracting MND.

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow involving four hundred former Scotland rugby union players determined they had an increased risk of developing the condition.

Scientists also found that rugby players who have experienced multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more susceptible to contracting MND.

The MND Association recognizes there is a "link" between contact sports and MND.

It added that while the athletes researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly caused the condition.

The charity also stresses that "documented MND instances in this research 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".

Multiple prominent athletes have been diagnosed with the condition in the past few years.

These include former rugby union players, soccer players, and cricketers.

In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition at the age of 39.