Understanding MND and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Be Diagnosed?
Motor neurone disease affects nerves located in the cerebrum and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue how to function.
This leads them to weaken and stiffen gradually and usually affects how you walk, speak, consume food and respire.
It is a quite uncommon disease that is most common in people 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.
About 5,000 people in the UK will have the condition at any given moment.
Researchers are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and other environmental influences.
For up to 10% of people with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.
Typically there is a family history of the disease in these cases.
Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?
MND impacts each person uniquely.
Not everyone has the same symptoms, or experiences them in the identical sequence.
The disease can advance at varying rates too.
Some of the most common indicators are:
- loss of muscle strength and cramps
- rigid articulations
- difficulties in how you speak
- complications involving ingesting, consuming food and taking fluids
- reduced cough reflex
Is There a Cure?
There is no cure, but there is optimism stemming from treatments focused on various types of MND.
MND is not a single illness - it is really multiple that culminate in the demise of motor neurones.
An innovative medication called tofersen works in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in certain instances even reverse - a portion of the manifestations of MND.
It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "real moment of hope" for the whole disease.
Although the medication has recently received approval in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.
Just one drug presently approved for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the condition and increase survival by a few months, but it cannot repair damage.
What is Life Expectancy for MND?
Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and survived until 76.
But for most, the disease progresses quickly and survival time is just a few years.
Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a one-third of people within a twelve months and over 50% within 24 months of identification.
As the neurons cease functioning, ingestion and respiration become more challenging 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 yet been found, but top-level sportspeople appear disproportionately affected by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an elevated chance of developing MND.
Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University including 400 ex- Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an increased risk of developing the disease.
Researchers additionally discovered that rugby players who have experienced repeated head injuries have biological differences that could render them more prone to developing MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between collision sports and MND.
It noted that while the sportspeople researched were more likely 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 remains quite small, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to random chance".
Several prominent athletes have been identified with the disease in the past few years.
This encompasses former rugby union players, soccer players, and cricket athletes.
Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition aged 39.
