The lifetime risk of developing ALS/MND has been calculated to be 1/300. In Australia, on average, each day two people die from MND and two people are diagnosed with MND.
Motor neurone disease (MND) is a rare, degenerative nervous system condition that affects approximately 1 in 11,434 Australians.
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%.
MND is uncommon but not rare. Recent statistics estimate there are over 2,000 people in Australia currently diagnosed with MND and every day 2 Australians are diagnosed with MND. The average age of onset is 50.
Motor neurone disease is an uncommon condition that mainly affects people in their 60s and 70s, but it can affect adults of all ages. It's caused by a problem with cells in the brain and nerves called motor neurones. These cells gradually stop working over time. It's not known why this happens.
It is thought that MND is caused by a mix of genetic and environmental factors, and several possible factors have been suggested, including exposure to chemicals, fractures and injuries, smoking, military service, and engaging in some sports or high levels of exercise, but research studies have so far failed to find ...
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.
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.
Motor neurone disease (MND) affects around 5,000 people in the UK every year. There is currently no cure. An international clinical trial led by Professor Dame Pamela J Shaw in the UK has been shown to slow down progression of a type of motor neurone disease and could be a turning point for patient care.
Many of the people we talked to had been experiencing symptoms for months or even years before finally getting a diagnosis. Some lived with their symptoms for a long time before deciding to go to their GP, perhaps putting them down to stress, old age, or injury. (See 'First symptoms of MND').
The research from the University of Sheffield, published in the journal EBioMedicine, suggests a causal relationship between exercise and MND, with high intensity physical activity likely to contribute to motor neurone injury in people who have a predisposing genetic profile.
NZ has highest rate of motor neurone disease of any country in the world | 1 News Now – NZ MND Research Network.
What is the life expectancy of someone with motor neurone disease? A person with MND will usually die between two to three years after diagnosis, but this can vary from person to person. Some people live many years after their diagnosis.
In 2019, age-standardized DALY rate were 12.66 (95% UI, 11.98–13.29) per 100,000 population and age-standardized death rate were 0.48 (95% UI, 0.45–0.51) per 100,000 person-years associated with MND around the world.
This leads to increasing physical disability, as muscles are unable to receive messages from the neurons to move or activate. Without these signals, muscle weakness, wasting and paralysis develop. MND usually develops quickly once symptoms begin, with an average life expectancy of 2-3 years from diagnosis.
There is strong evidence that oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of motor neurone disease (MND).
B Vitamins (Folic Acid, B6, B12)
Individuals with MND have elevated levels of homocysteine, which is involved in the formation of free radicals and oxidative stress. Folic acid and vitamin B12 convert homocysteine into methionine, while vitamin B6 converts it into sulfur amino acids, reducing homocysteine levels.
exposure to viruses. exposure to certain toxins and chemicals. genetic factors. inflammation and damage to neurons caused by an immune system response.
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.
Familial and sporadic MND
Approximately one in 15 people with MND will be aware of another close family member (parent, brother or sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle or cousin) with the disease, or with the related condition frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Generally, MND is believed to be caused because of a combination of environmental, lifestyle and genetic factors. Most cases of MND develop without an obvious cause. Around 1 in 10 cases are 'familial', meaning the condition is inherited. This is due to a genetic mutation, or an error in the gene.
Genetic testing is only available to those over the age of 18 and the result has huge implications. You may find that you do not carry the faulty gene and the threat of disease will no longer hang over you. However, it is equally possible that you find out that you do carry an MND-causing gene.
There was a statistically significant reduction in risk of MND with increasing body mass index (pfor trend = 0·009): obese women (body mass index, 30 kg/m2 or more) had a 20% lower risk than women of normal body mass index (20 to <25 Kg/m2)(RR 0·78 95% CI 0·65-0·94; p = 0·03).