What is Motor Neurone Disease and Are Athletes At Higher Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
Motor neurone disease affects nerves located in the cerebrum and spine, that instruct your muscles what to do.
This leads them to lose strength and stiffen over time and typically impacts how you walk, speak, consume food and breathe.
It is a relatively rare condition that is most frequent in individuals over 50, but adults of any age can be affected.
An individual's chance in their life of contracting MND is one in 300.
About 5,000 people in the UK will have the condition at any one time.
Scientists are uncertain what causes MND, but it is probable to be a mix of the genes - or biological traits - you get from your parents when you are born, and additional environmental influences.
In as many as 10% of individuals with MND, specific genes are far more significant.
Typically there is a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.
Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?
MND affects everyone differently.
Not everyone has the same symptoms, or encounters them in the same order.
The disease can advance at varying rates too.
Some of the most common signs are:
- loss of muscle strength and cramps
- rigid articulations
- problems with how you speak
- complications involving swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
- weakened coughing
Does There Exist a Treatment?
No cure, but there is hope stemming from treatments focused on different forms of MND.
MND is not one disease - it is really multiple that result in the demise of nerve cells.
A new drug called tofersen works in just 2% of patients, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even reverse - a portion of the symptoms of MND.
It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease.
Even though the medication has recently been approved 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 endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the disease and prolong life by several months, but it cannot repair harm.
Determining Survival Rate for MND?
Some people can live for many years with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed at the age of 22 and survived until 76.
But for most, the disease advances rapidly and life expectancy is just a few years.
According to the non-profit MND Association, the disease kills a third of people within a twelve months and over 50% within two years of diagnosis.
As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become more challenging and many people need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.
Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
The exact cause has not yet been found, but elite athletes seem disproportionately affected by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 indicated that professional footballers have an elevated chance of developing MND.
Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University including four hundred ex- Scotland rugby union players determined they had an higher likelihood of acquiring the disease.
Scientists additionally discovered that rugby athletes who have suffered repeated head injuries have physiological variations that may make them more prone to contracting MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "link" between collision sports and MND.
It noted that while the sportspeople studied were more likely to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the disease.
The charity also stresses that "reported MND cases in these studies is remains quite small, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misinterpreted if this is simply a cluster due to statistical coincidence".
Several high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with the disease in recent years.
This encompasses former rugby internationals, soccer players, and cricket athletes.
Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition at the age of 39.
