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MND affects nerves located in the brain and spine, which tell your muscles what to do.

This causes them to weaken and stiffen over time and typically impacts your walking, talk, eat and breathe.

This is a quite uncommon disease that is most frequent in people above age fifty, but grown-ups of all ages can be impacted.

A person's chance in their life of developing MND is 1 out of 300.

About 5,000 people in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.

Researchers are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genes - or biological traits - you inherit from your mother and father when you are born, and additional environmental influences.

For up to 10% of individuals with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.

There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in such instances.

What are the First Signs of the Disease?

MND impacts each person uniquely.

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

The condition can progress at different speeds too.

Some of the most frequent signs are:

• loss of muscle strength and cramps
• stiff joints
• difficulties in your speech
• complications involving swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Cure?

There is no definitive treatment, but there is hope stemming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is actually multiple that culminate in the death of nerve cells.

A new drug known as tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even undo - a portion of the manifestations of MND.

It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease.

Although the drug has recently received approval in the EU, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

There is only one drug presently approved for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the condition and increase survival by several months, but it does not reverse damage.

Determining Life Expectancy for MND?

Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and survived until 76.

But for the majority, the illness advances rapidly and survival time is only several years.

According to the charity MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a third of people within a twelve months and more than half within two years of diagnosis.

As the nerve cells stop working, ingestion and breathing become more challenging and many people need nutritional support or breathing apparatus to help them stay alive.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

The precise reason has not yet been found, but elite athletes appear disproportionately affected 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 University of Glasgow including 400 former Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of developing the condition.

Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have physiological variations that could render them more susceptible to developing MND.

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

It noted that while the sportspeople researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly led to the condition.

The charity also stresses that "documented MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is merely a grouping due to statistical coincidence".

Several prominent athletes have been diagnosed with the condition in recent years.

These include former rugby internationals, soccer players, and cricket athletes.

Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the condition aged 39.