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Motor neurone disease impacts nerves found in the cerebrum and spine, which tell your muscles what to do.

This causes them to lose strength and become rigid over time and typically impacts your walking, speak, eat and respire.

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

An individual's lifetime risk of developing MND is one in 300.

Approximately five thousand people in the UK are living with the condition at any given moment.

Scientists are not sure the cause of MND, but it is likely to be a mix of the genes - or biological traits - you get from your mother and father 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 hereditary background of the disease in these cases.

Identifying the First Signs of the Condition?

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.

Some of the most frequent indicators are:

• loss of muscle strength and muscle spasms
• rigid articulations
• difficulties in your speech
• issues with ingesting, consuming food and taking fluids
• reduced cough reflex

Does There Exist a Treatment?

There is no cure, but there is hope stemming from therapies focused on various types of MND.

MND is not a single illness - it is actually several that culminate in the demise of nerve cells.

A new drug called tofersen works in just 2% of patients, however it has been shown to slow - and in some cases even reverse - some of the manifestations of MND.

It has been referred to as "truly remarkable" and a "significant point of hope" for the whole disease.

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

Just one drug currently licensed for the management of MND in the UK and endorsed by the NHS.

Riluzole could decelerate the progression of the condition and prolong life by a few months, but it does not reverse damage.

What is Life Expectancy for MND?

Certain individuals can survive for decades with MND, including theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who was identified at the age of 22 and lived to 76.

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

Based on the charity MND Association, the condition claims the lives of a third of people within a year and over 50% within 24 months of identification.

As the nerve cells cease functioning, swallowing and respiration become more challenging and numerous individuals need feeding tubes or respiratory aids to help them remain living.

Are Athletes More Likely to Be Diagnosed?

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

Two studies from 2005 and 2009 showed that soccer players have an increased risk of developing MND.

Research from 2022 by the University of Glasgow including 400 former Scotland rugby union players concluded they had an higher likelihood of developing the disease.

Scientists also found that rugby athletes who have experienced repeated head injuries have biological differences that could render them more prone to contracting MND.

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

It added that while the athletes studied were more likely to develop MND, it did not prove the athletic activities directly led to the disease.

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

Several high-profile sports figures have been diagnosed with the disease in the past few years.

These include former rugby players, soccer players, and cricket athletes.

In the United States, MLB athlete Lou Gehrig succumbed to the condition at the age of 39.