Causes of motor neurone disease

Motor neurone disease / MND

Motor neurone disease (MND) is diagnosed when the motor nerve cells stop sending impulses from the brain center to the muscles and bones. The result of this disease is disablement of movements. Motor neurons are also responsible for some functions of the autonomic nervous system (things our body does without our intention and awareness) like breathing or heart pumping. Large number of people who suffer from this disease don’t have any close relatives who have the same problem, and this kind of motor neurone disease is named sporadic MND. It develops as a result of more factors such as heredity, lifestyle and stress factors. On the other side, there are sufferers who have this disease in their families, and that is familial MND. When this is the case, we can say that the only cause for the development of this disease is genetics.

FamilialMND

If the cause of the MND lies in the genes, then changes in the chromosomes are transferred from parents to their offspring. Those changes in the chromosomes are also called genetic mutations. Today, we know that there are three mutations associated with the MND. However, the causes of this disease are not yet completely discovered and they are still being researched.

Possible cellular causes of MND

It is very enigmatic why motor nerve cells stop to function properly. The majority of scientist claim that the cause lies in the combination of several factors and one of those factors is a larger amount of glutamate in the space between nerve cells. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter responsible for exchanging information between nerve cells, so when this substance exceeds a normal amount, the communication between nerve cells is interrupted.

One of the factors is also a disorder regarding transport systems of motor neurons. This kind of disorder is occurring at the beginning of MND, and it can be the reason for nerve dysfunction. The cause may also be the development of aggregates, which are actually protein clusters in the motor nerve cells and they are associated with the development of MND. There are studies that showed that people who suffer from MND have motor neurons that make less antioxidants than usually. Also, there are mitochondrial changes of the motor neurons at those who suffer fromMND. Motorneurons must get enough nutrients from a specific type of proteins. If there is a lack of these proteins or if there are some other irregularities with this, then the result can be the dysfunction of the motor neurons. And, at last the cause can be in glia cells that are around all nerve cells and that feed them. When these glia cells are not providing everything that neurons need, the MND can develop.