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Motor neurone disease impacts nerve cells found in the brain and spine, that instruct your muscles what to do.

This causes them to lose strength and stiffen over time and typically impacts how you walk, talk, eat and breathe.

It is a quite uncommon disease that is most common in individuals over 50, but adults of all ages can be affected.

A person's chance in their life of developing MND is 1 out of 300.

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

Researchers are not sure what causes MND, but it is likely to be a combination of the genetic material - or biological traits - you get from your parents when you are born, and additional lifestyle factors.

For up to 10% of people with MND, particular genetic factors play a much larger role.

Typically there is a family history of the disease in these cases.

Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?

MND affects everyone differently.

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

The disease can advance at varying rates too.

Some of the most frequent signs are:

• muscle weakness and muscle spasms
• stiff joints
• problems with how you speak
• issues with swallowing, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Is There a Treatment?

There is no cure, but there is hope coming from therapies focused on various types 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 patients, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even undo - some of the symptoms of MND.

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

Although the medication has recently received approval in the EU, it is not currently accessible in the UK.

Just one drug currently licensed for the treatment of MND in the UK and approved by the NHS.

Riluzole may slow down the advancement of the disease and increase survival by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

What is Survival Rate for MND?

Certain individuals can live for many years with MND, such as renowned scientist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

But for most, the disease progresses quickly and survival time is only several years.

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

As the neurons stop working, ingestion and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them stay alive.

Are Athletes At Greater Risk to Be Diagnosed?

The exact cause has not yet been found, but top-level sportspeople appear disproportionately affected by MND.

A pair of research projects from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an increased risk of developing MND.

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow involving 400 former Scotland rugby athletes concluded they had an higher likelihood of developing the condition.

Scientists additionally discovered that rugby players who have suffered multiple concussions have biological differences that may make them more susceptible to contracting MND.

The MND Association recognizes there is a "link" between collision sports and MND.

It added that while the sportspeople researched were more likely to develop MND, it did not show the sports directly led to the disease.

The charity also emphasises that "documented MND instances in these studies is remains quite small, and so concluding there is a definite increased risk could be misunderstood if this is merely a cluster due to random chance".

Several prominent athletes have been identified with the condition in the past few years.

These include ex- rugby players, soccer players, and cricketers.

Across the Atlantic, baseball player Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition aged 39.