What is Motor Neurone Disease and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
Motor neurone disease impacts nerves located in the cerebrum and spinal cord, which tell your muscle tissue what to do.
This leads them to weaken and stiffen gradually and typically impacts how you walk, speak, eat and respire.
It is a quite uncommon condition that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of any age can be affected.
An individual's chance in their life of contracting MND is one in 300.
About 5,000 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 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 play a much larger role.
Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.
What are the First Signs of the Disease?
MND impacts each person uniquely.
Not all individuals has the identical signs, or experiences them in the identical sequence.
The disease can progress at varying rates too.
Among the most frequent indicators are:
- muscle weakness and cramps
- rigid articulations
- difficulties in your speech
- issues with swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
- weakened coughing
Does There Exist a Treatment?
No definitive treatment, but there is hope stemming from therapies focused on different forms of MND.
MND is not a single illness - it is really several that result in the death of motor neurones.
A new drug called tofersen is effective in just 2% of individuals, however it has been shown to slow - and in certain instances even reverse - a portion of the symptoms of MND.
It has been described as "truly remarkable" and a "real moment of hope" for the whole disease.
Even though the medication has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not yet available in the UK.
There is only one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the progression of the disease and prolong life by several months, but it cannot repair damage.
What is Survival Rate for MND?
Some people can live for many years with MND, including renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and lived to 76.
But for the majority, the disease advances rapidly and life expectancy is just a few years.
Based on the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a third of individuals within a year and over 50% within two years of identification.
As the neurons stop working, swallowing and breathing become more challenging and numerous individuals need nutritional support or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.
Are Athletes More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?
The precise reason has not been identified, but elite athletes appear overrepresented by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an increased risk of developing MND.
Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University involving four hundred former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an higher likelihood of developing the disease.
Scientists additionally discovered that rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have physiological variations that may make them more prone to contracting MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between contact sports and MND.
It noted that while the athletes studied were more likely to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly led to the disease.
The organization also stresses that "reported MND instances in this research is remains quite small, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a cluster due to random chance".
Multiple high-profile athletes have been identified with the disease in recent years.
This encompasses ex- rugby union players, soccer players, and cricketers.
Across the Atlantic, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig died from the disease at the age of 39.
