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Motor neurone disease impacts nerves found in the brain and spinal cord, that instruct your muscle tissue what to do.

This leads them to lose strength and stiffen gradually and typically impacts your walking, talk, eat and breathe.

This is a relatively rare condition that is most common in individuals over 50, but grown-ups of all ages can be affected.

An individual's chance in their life of developing MND is one in 300.

About 5,000 adults in the UK will have the condition at any given moment.

Researchers are not sure the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genetic material - or inherited characteristics - you inherit from your mother and father when you are born, and other lifestyle factors.

For up to one in 10 individuals with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

There is usually a hereditary background of the illness in these cases.

What are the First Signs of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

Not everyone has the same symptoms, or experiences them in the same order.

The condition can advance at varying rates too.

Among the most frequent indicators are:

• muscle weakness and muscle spasms
• rigid articulations
• problems with your speech
• complications involving ingesting, eating and taking fluids
• weakened coughing

Is There a Cure?

No cure, but there is optimism coming from treatments targeted at different forms of MND.

MND is not one disease - it is really multiple that culminate in the demise of motor neurones.

A new drug called tofersen is effective in only one in 50 patients, however it has been demonstrated to slow - and in some cases even undo - a portion of the symptoms of MND.

It has been described as "absolutely groundbreaking" and a "significant point of optimism" for the whole disease.

Although the medication has recently received approval in the European Union, it is not yet available in the UK.

There is only one drug 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 a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

Determining Life Expectancy 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 lived to 76.

But for the majority, the disease progresses quickly and life expectancy is just a few years.

Based on the non-profit MND Association, the condition kills a third of individuals within a year and more than half within two years of identification.

As the neurons stop working, ingestion and breathing become more challenging and many people need feeding tubes or breathing apparatus to help them remain living.

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Receive a Diagnosis?

The precise reason has not been identified, but elite athletes appear disproportionately affected by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an elevated chance of contracting MND.

A 2022 study by the University of Glasgow involving 400 former Scotland rugby athletes determined they had an increased risk of developing the disease.

Scientists also found that rugby players who have experienced multiple concussions have biological differences that could render them more prone to contracting MND.

The MND Association acknowledges there is a "correlation" between collision sports and MND.

It noted that while the sportspeople researched were more likely to acquire MND, it did not show the sports directly caused the disease.

The organization also emphasises that "documented MND instances in these studies is still relatively low, and so determining there is a certain elevated chance could be misunderstood if this is simply a grouping due to statistical coincidence".

Multiple prominent sports figures have been identified with the disease in recent years.

These include ex- rugby internationals, soccer players, and cricket athletes.

In the United States, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the disease aged 39.