If a patient experiences symptoms like muscle spasms or trouble walking, some may suspect it to be Multiple Sclerosis, while others may say it's Motor Neuron Disease. While MS and MND do have some commonalities, they are completely different conditions that require unique treatment approaches.
This group includes diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, progressive bulbar palsy, primary lateral sclerosis, progressive muscular atrophy, spinal muscular atrophy, Kennedy's disease, and post-polio syndrome.
Thus, lesions resulting in lower motor neuron damage may occur in the central nervous system in MS patients.
Typically, the longer you live, the more likely you are to develop the condition. If you have a parent with MND with no other family history of the disease, you're at a slight increased risk of MND of about 1.4%. The risk to the general population of MND is about 0.3%.
In our study relatives of MS patients were significantly more prone to ALS and vice versa.
MS has more mental impairment and ALS has more physical impairment. Late stage MS rarely is debilitating or fatal, while ALS is completely debilitating leading to paralysis and death.
One explanation would be that the two conditions share some common genes which predispose to both MS and ALS. Here, we identified six shared risk genes including TRIP11, ATXN3, GGNBP2, SLC9A8, DENND6B, and ANO5 (Table 1).
Nutrients. There is some evidence that motor neurones become more likely to develop MND because of a lack of nutrients. One form of such nutrients is a group of chemicals called 'neurotrophic factors' (meaning 'nerve nourishing factors').
Studies have identified possible links with prior exposure to agricultural chemicals, pesticides, and a variety of heavy metals, high levels of exercise, and exposure to mechanical and/or electrical trauma.
Understanding Multiple Sclerosis and Motor Neuron Disease
These muscles are responsible for performing movements under one's will and thus, motor neuron diseases affect one's ability to perform voluntary movements. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the central nervous system.
Unlike UMNs, LMN lesions present with muscle atrophy, fasciculations (muscle twitching), decreased reflexes, decreased tone, negative Babinsky sign, and flaccid paralysis. These findings are crucial when differentiating UMN vs.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) often is mistaken for multiple sclerosis (MS). In fact, they share similar symptoms and features, such as scarring around the nerves (sclerosis), causing muscle spasms, difficulty in walking, and fatigue.
An algal toxin called BMAA has long been associated with the increased incidence of a motor neurone disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
A cure for the genetic forms of MND is close, probably 3 years away, and we are hoping for a cure for the sporadic form (90% of patients) within the decade.”
Certain dietary factors, such as higher intake of antioxidants and vitamin E, have been shown, at least in some studies, to decrease the risk of MND. Interestingly, increased physical fitness and lower body mass index (BMI) have been shown to be associated with a higher risk of MND.
Researchers have hypothesized that vigorous physical activity might increase exposure to environmental toxins, facilitate the transport of toxins to the brain, increase the absorption of toxins, or increase the athlete''''s susceptibility to motor neuron disease through added physical stress.
There is strong evidence that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of motor neurone disease (MND).
A person with MND will usually die between two to three years after diagnosis, but this can vary from person to person.
MND is not a common disease. It affects adults and sometimes younger adults. You are likely to be more than 40 years old at diagnosis, and most people with MND are aged between 50 and 70. Men are affected almost twice as often as women, but this varies.
Symptoms. The different types of MND cause similar symptoms and have three stages: early, middle, and advanced. The diseases progress at different speeds and vary in severity.
Intense physical activities and MND
For example, repetitive head injuries from contact sports (e.g. professional soccer or football) may increase the risk of developing neurodegenerative issues, including dementia, Alzheimer's disease and MND.
MS is an autoimmune disease that causes your body to attack itself. ALS, also called Lou Gehrig's disease, is a nervous system disorder that wears away nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord. Both are treated differently.
The specific types of autoimmune diseases in the C9 and FTD/MND group cluster within the same 3 general autoimmune groups as previously described: inflammatory arthritides, cutaneous conditions, and gastrointestinal disorders.
Biological sex—Males are slightly more likely to develop ALS. However, as people age the difference between the sexes disappears. Race and ethnicity—Caucasians and non-Hispanics are most likely to develop the disease, but ALS affects people of all races and ethnic backgrounds.