ABSTRACT
Until very recently motor neurone disease (MND) was known amongst the community of those whom it touched as a ‘hidden secret’. Not only did the diagnosis of the disease often appear to be hidden from the patient and frequently from their family, it was a condition which many of those concerned with medical care were reluctant to acknowledge openly for the issues involved in managing people diagnosed with the disease were - and still are - deemed to be profoundly demanding and difficult. Of all diseases, until recently, it has appeared to be the one which has most highlighted medical impotence in relation to even the possibility of a cure, as well as revealing the paucity of weapons in the armoury of those managing the care of people affected by the condition.
