Motor neurone disease (MND) is a uncommon condition that affects the brain and nerves. It causes weakness that gets worse over time.

It's always fatal and can significantly shorten life expectancy, but some people live with it for many years. There’s no cure, but there are treatments to help reduce the impact it has on your daily life.

Symptoms

Symptoms of motor neurone disease come on gradually and may not be obvious at first.

Early symptoms can include:

weakness in your ankle or leg – you might trip, or find it harder to climb stairs

slurred speech, which may develop into difficulty swallowing some foods

a weak grip – you might drop things, or find it hard to open jars or do up buttons

muscle cramps and twitches

weight loss – your arms or leg muscles may have become thinner over time

difficulty stopping yourself crying or laughing in inappropriate situations

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.

Motor neurone disease gets gradually worse over time.

Moving around, swallowing and breathing get increasingly difficult, and treatments like a feeding tube or breathing air through a face mask may be needed.

The condition is eventually fatal, but how long it takes to reach this stage varies a lot. A few people live for many years or even decades with motor neurone disease.