A voice for Tom: an urgent call for more research into neurodegenerative disease and contact sport

Abstract

The risk of developing motor neuron disease (MND) in your lifetime is between 1 in 300 and 1 in 450.1 2 You think it will never affect your loved ones… until it does. On 17 July 2024, my partner Tom (figure 1) received this earth-shattering, terminal diagnosis, aged just 29. On the same day, ‘The UK Rugby Health Study’ was published, identifying potential biomarkers connecting concussion to MND and highlighting the need for further research.3 In less than a year, Tom went from a marathon-running, karaoke-singing rugby player to having significant difficulty speaking, swallowing and using his limbs. What has remained constant is his fierce friendship, his endless kindness, his humour and his passion and action as an environmental consultant, striving to make the world a better place for the people he may one day leave behind. Figure 1 Tom and Alex(andra) ran a half marathon together in November 2023. Tom was already experiencing symptoms at this time that would …