Motor neurone disease (MND) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterised by the progressive weakness of voluntary muscles throughout the body. As the degeneration and eventual loss of motor neurones within the brain and spinal cord progresses the muscles atrophy causing weakness and eventually paralysis. Failure of the respiratory muscles is the cause of death for the majority of patients with MND. Nocturnal hypoventilation is often the first sign of weakening respiratory muscles. Identification and treatment of nocturnal hypoventilation can improve sleep and symptoms such as fatigue, improve quality of life and prolong survival. This study aims to investigate the mechanisms that cause nocturnal hypoventilation in MND and clinical tools that may assist in the early identification of nocturnal hypoventilation.
