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Motor neurone disease affects nerve cells located in the cerebrum and spinal cord, which tell your muscle tissue what to do.

This causes them to lose strength and stiffen over time and typically impacts how you walk, speak, consume food and respire.

This is a relatively rare disease that is most common in people over 50, but adults of all ages can be impacted.

An individual's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300.

Approximately five thousand people in the UK are living with the condition at any one time.

Researchers are uncertain the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genetic material - or biological traits - you inherit from your parents when you are delivered, and other environmental influences.

For up to one in 10 people with MND, specific genes play a much larger role.

There is usually a family history of the illness in such instances.

Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The disease can advance at varying rates too.

Some of the most frequent indicators are:

• muscle weakness and cramps
• stiff joints
• problems with how you speak
• issues with swallowing, eating and drinking
• weakened coughing

Is There a Treatment?

No definitive treatment, but there is hope coming from therapies targeted at different forms of MND.

MND is not a single illness - it is really multiple that result in the demise of motor neurones.

An innovative medication known as tofersen works in only one in 50 individuals, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even undo - some of the symptoms of MND.

It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of hope" for the entire condition.

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

Just one pharmaceutical presently approved for the management of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the progression of the disease and increase survival by a few months, but it cannot repair damage.

What is Survival Rate for MND?

Certain individuals can live for many years with MND, such as theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the twenty-two years old and lived to 76.

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

According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease claims the lives of a one-third of individuals within a year and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.

As the neurons stop working, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and many people need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them remain living.

Do Sports Professionals More Likely to Receive a Diagnosis?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but elite athletes seem disproportionately affected by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 showed that professional footballers have an increased risk of contracting MND.

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow involving 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the condition.

Researchers additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have physiological variations that could render them more susceptible to contracting MND.

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

It noted that while the sportspeople researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the sports directly caused the disease.

The charity also emphasises that "reported MND instances in this research is still relatively low, and so determining there is a definite increased risk could be misinterpreted if this is merely a cluster due to random chance".

Several high-profile sports figures have been identified with the condition in the past few years.

These include former rugby internationals, footballers, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the disease at the age of 39.