What Is MND?

Motor Neurone Disease is the name given to a group of related diseases affecting the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord. Motor neurones are the nerve cells along which the brain sends instructions, in the form of electrical impulses, to the muscles. Progressive degeneration of the motor neurones leads to weakness and wasting of muscles, usually in arms and legs first. Some people may develop weakness and wasting in the muscles supplying the face and throat, causing problems with speech and difficulty chewing and swallowing.

Who Gets MND?

Motor neurone disease is not infectious or contagious. In the vast majority of cases the disease can affect anyone at any age. More specifically:

The majority of people with MND are over the age of 40, with the highest incidence occurring between the ages of 50 and 70.

Men are affected approximately twice as often as women.

How Many People Are Affected?

Two people per 100,000 are diagnosed with MND every year.

5000 people are living with MND, in the UK, at any one time.

Causes and More Information of MND

The precise cause of MND is not yet known. There has been an acceleration of world-wide research into the disease and advances are being made in understanding both the disease itself and the way motor neurones function.
There are three varieties, one affecting initially and mainly the limbs, the second affecting the swallowing and speech centres initially and the third having a mixed picture from an early stage.

Half of the people will die within 14 months of their diagnosis.  In some cases, of course, the life span is shorter while other people have a longer (and even very much longer) life span. 

Increasing weakness and weight loss, loss of co-ordination and balance; changed body image and (in some cases) speech and swallowing difficulties can lead to severe isolation and loneliness. Such people need good support and value the help of local multi-professional teams headed up by local neurologists.

So How do Motor Neurone Disease Patients Die?

Most MND patients at some stage develop a chest infection which rapidly and peacefully leads to loss of consciousness and a rapid and peaceful death when the time comes. So much can now be done with modern medications, routes of administration and, above all, trained and understanding carers, that the end can be made peaceful and without distress even if the months before death have been challenging.