One in every 300 people will develop Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in their lifetime - but early symptoms of the deadly disease can be difficult to detect.
The uncommon condition affects the brain and nerves, causing weakness that gets worse over time, and can significantly shorten life expectancy. Up to 5,000 people in the UK are living with MND and it causes around 1,200 deaths each year - more than half within the first two years of diagnosis, according to the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The disease mainly impact people in their 60s and 70s, but it can affect adults of all ages - it's thought that around 200,000 of the current UK population will die of MND. It's caused by a problem with cells in the brain and nerves called motor neurones, which sees them gradually stop working over time; it's not known why this happens, and sadly there is no cure.
