Dentists and GPs are set to receive training to recognise early, lesser-known warning signs of the fatal condition motor neurone disease.
The first UK programme of its kind will equip healthcare professionals with guidance on spotting subtle symptoms, including difficulty swallowing and changes in the tongue muscles.
The charity leading the initiative says the scheme could help patients receive a diagnosis sooner, giving disease-slowing treatments more time to work.
An earlier diagnosis could also give families more time to adapt their homes and living arrangements, including making disability modifications, before the patient becomes seriously ill.
Motor neurone disease is caused by damage to nerves in the brain and spinal cord responsible for movement, speech, swallowing and breathing.
When these nerves stop functioning, muscles weaken and waste away, ultimately causing paralysis and death.
Around 2,200 people in Britain are diagnosed with the disease each year. However, it is often detected only at a later stage, when symptoms have already become debilitating.
Dentists and GPs are being offered training to spot the first signs of life-wrecking MND
Studies show that most patients live for two to three years following their diagnosis.
But the additional clinician training, known as Race to Diagnose, could help change that outlook, according to the charity My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
‘The early signs of motor neurone disease vary considerably,’ says Jessica Lee, director of research at the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
‘There is no single test that tells you conclusively that someone has it. That means people can move between different parts of the healthcare system before they reach the right specialist.
‘Race to Diagnose gives professionals practical guidance on what to look for, how to assess what they are seeing and when to make an urgent referral.
‘As treatments begin to emerge, reaching people earlier in the course of the disease may be critical to giving those treatments the best possible chance of having an effect.’
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Early damage to the nerves that control the face can sometimes be detected in changes to the tongue, experts say.
For instance, patients may have difficulty moving the tongue in and out of the mouth or a dentist may notice involuntary muscle twitches under the tongue when it is relaxed.
Speech may also become slightly slurred, less clear, or slower with sounds that need precise tongue movement harder to pronounce.
Physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed with a form of motor neurone disease in 1963, aged just 21
Other early signs of the disease include difficulty swallowing, muscle cramping and problems with walking and using stairs.
As well as spotting early signs, the new training programme shows professionals how to explain an urgent referral to a neurologist without causing unnecessary alarm.
It is thought that around one in 10 cases of motor neurone disease (MND) are inherited from relatives. The cause of the remainder is unknown.
However, a growing body of research suggests lifestyle factors may play an important role.
Smoking has been heavily investigated as a possible trigger for MND.
Some studies suggest those who have ever smoked may be 20 to 40 per cent more likely to develop it than those who have never smoked, although scientists stress the evidence remains mixed.
Research indicates that smokers diagnosed with MND typically experience the onset of symptoms at a younger age than non-smokers.
Some studies have suggested women who smoke may face a particularly elevated risk, especially after the menopause.
The most famous sufferer was physicist Stephen Hawking, who was diagnosed with a form of MND in 1963, aged just 21.
Doctors initially gave him only a few years to live, but he survived for more than five decades – becoming one of the world’s most recognisable scientists.
