What is MND and Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?
MND impacts nerve cells found in the cerebrum and spinal cord, which tell your muscles what to do.
This leads them to weaken and become rigid over time and usually affects your walking, talk, consume food and respire.
This is a quite uncommon condition that is most common in people above age fifty, but grown-ups of any age can be affected.
An individual's lifetime risk of developing MND is 1 out of 300.
Approximately 5,000 adults in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.
Researchers are uncertain what causes MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genetic material - or biological traits - you get from your parents when you are delivered, and other environmental influences.
For up to one in 10 individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.
Typically there is a family history of the illness in these cases.
Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Condition?
MND impacts each person uniquely.
Not all individuals has the identical signs, or experiences them in the same order.
The condition can progress at varying rates too.
Among the most frequent indicators are:
- loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
- rigid articulations
- difficulties in your speech
- complications involving ingesting, consuming food and drinking
- weakened coughing
Does There Exist a Treatment?
There is no definitive treatment, but there is hope stemming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND.
MND is not a single illness - it is actually multiple that culminate in the death of nerve cells.
An innovative medication called tofersen works in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been shown to decelerate - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the manifestations of MND.
It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "real moment of hope" for the entire condition.
Although the drug has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not yet available in the UK.
There is only one drug presently approved for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the progression of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it cannot repair damage.
What is Life Expectancy for MND?
Some people can live for many years 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 survival time is only several years.
According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a third of individuals within a year and more than half within two years of identification.
As the nerve cells stop working, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.
Do Sports Professionals At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
The exact cause has not been identified, but top-level sportspeople seem disproportionately affected by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an elevated chance of developing MND.
A 2022 study by the Glasgow University including 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the condition.
Scientists additionally discovered that rugby players who have experienced repeated head injuries have physiological variations that may make them more susceptible to contracting MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "link" between collision sports and MND.
It added that while the sportspeople researched were more likely to acquire MND, it did not prove the sports directly caused the disease.
The charity also emphasises that "documented MND cases in these studies is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is merely a grouping due to random chance".
Multiple prominent athletes have been diagnosed with the condition in the past few years.
These include former rugby players, soccer players, and cricketers.
In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the condition aged 39.
