What is MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Be Diagnosed?
Motor neurone disease impacts nerves found in the cerebrum and spinal cord, which tell your muscle tissue what to do.
This causes them to weaken and become rigid gradually and usually affects how you walk, speak, consume food and respire.
This is a relatively rare disease that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but adults of any age can be affected.
An individual's chance in their life of developing MND is 1 out of 300.
About five thousand adults in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.
Scientists are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and other lifestyle factors.
In as many as one in 10 people with MND, particular genetic factors are far more significant.
Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness in such instances.
Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Condition?
MND affects everyone differently.
Not everyone has the identical signs, or experiences them in the identical sequence.
The condition can progress at varying rates too.
Among the most common signs are:
- loss of muscle strength and cramps
- rigid articulations
- difficulties in your speech
- issues with ingesting, eating and taking fluids
- weakened coughing
Is There a Cure?
There is no cure, but there is hope stemming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND.
MND is not a single illness - it is actually several that result in the death of motor neurones.
An innovative medication called tofersen works in only one in 50 patients, however it has been shown 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 "real moment of optimism" 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 treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.
Riluzole could decelerate the advancement of the disease and prolong life by several months, but it cannot repair damage.
What is Survival Rate for MND?
Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the twenty-two years old and survived until 76.
But for most, the illness advances rapidly and survival time is just a few years.
Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a twelve months and more than half within 24 months of diagnosis.
As the neurons stop working, ingestion and breathing become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them remain living.
Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?
The precise reason has not yet been found, but top-level sportspeople seem overrepresented by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND.
A 2022 study by the Glasgow University including 400 ex- Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an increased risk of developing the disease.
Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have biological differences that may make them more prone to developing MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "link" between contact sports and MND.
It noted that while the athletes studied were had a greater chance to develop MND, it did not show the sports directly led to the disease.
The organization also stresses that "documented MND cases in this research is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misunderstood if this is merely a grouping due to statistical coincidence".
Multiple prominent sports figures have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.
This encompasses ex- rugby union internationals, soccer players, and cricketers.
In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition at the age of 39.
