Hello and welcome to the Zero to Finals podcast.

My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be talking to you about motor neurone disease.

And you can follow along with written notes on this topic at zero tofinals.com slash mn d.

Or in the neurology section of the Zero to Fin finals medicine book. So let's get straight into it.

Motor neurone disease is an umbrella term that encompasses a variety of specific diagnoses.

Motor neuronein disease is a progressive, ultimately fatal condition where the motor neurons stop functioning.

There's no effect on the sensory neurons and patients should not experience any sensory

symptoms. If they're having sensory symptoms, think about a different diagnosis.

The most common and well-known specific type of motor neuron disease is something called amylotrophic lateral sclerosis or AML.

And AML is what Stephen Hawking had, the famous mathematician and cosmologist.

Progressive Bulber palsy is the second most common form of motor neurone disease, and this affects

the muscles of talking and swallowing. There's a few other types of motor neurone disease, but the

ones to be aware of are progressive muscular atrophy and primary lateral sclerosis.

What's the path of physiology?

Well, there's simply progressive degeneration of both the Uthpa and the lower motor neurons.

The sensory neurons are completely spared.

The exact cause is unclear, although there's several mechanisms that have been considered. There's clearly a genetic

component and many genes have been linked with an increased risk of developing the condition.

However, there's no specific gene that causes the condition. Taking a good family history is

important as around 5 to 10% of cases are inherited.

There also seems to be an increased risk with smoking, exposure to heavy metals and also certain pesticides.

So how does it present?

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