What is Motor Neurone Disease and Do Sportspeople At Higher Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?
Motor neurone disease affects nerves found in the cerebrum and spine, which tell your muscles how to function.
This leads them to lose strength and stiffen gradually 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.
A person's lifetime risk of contracting MND is 1 out of 300.
About five thousand people in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.
Researchers are not sure the cause of MND, but it is probable to be a combination of the genes - 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.
There is usually a family history of the disease in such instances.
Identifying the Early Symptoms of the Disease?
MND impacts each person uniquely.
Not everyone has the same symptoms, or encounters them in the same order.
The condition can progress at different speeds too.
Among the most common signs are:
- loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
- rigid articulations
- problems with how you speak
- complications involving swallowing, eating and taking fluids
- weakened coughing
Is There a Treatment?
No definitive treatment, but there is hope coming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND.
MND is not a single illness - it is actually multiple that culminate in the demise of nerve cells.
A new drug known as tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been demonstrated to decelerate - and in some cases even undo - a portion of the symptoms of MND.
It has been referred to as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "real moment of optimism" for the entire condition.
Even though the medication has recently been approved in the EU, it is not yet available in the UK.
There is only one pharmaceutical currently licensed for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.
Riluzole may slow down the progression of the condition and increase survival by several months, but it cannot repair harm.
Determining 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 lived to 76.
But for most, the disease progresses quickly and life expectancy is just a few years.
Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition kills a one-third of people within a year and over 50% within 24 months of diagnosis.
As the neurons cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become increasingly difficult and numerous individuals 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 appear disproportionately affected by MND.
Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an increased risk of contracting MND.
Research from 2022 by the Glasgow University including 400 ex- Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an increased risk of acquiring the disease.
Researchers also found that rugby athletes who have experienced multiple concussions have physiological variations that could render them more prone to developing MND.
The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between contact sports and MND.
It noted that while the athletes researched were had a greater chance to acquire MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to 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 high-profile athletes have been diagnosed with the condition in recent years.
These include former rugby union internationals, footballers, and cricket athletes.
Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig died from the condition at the age of 39.
