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Dozens of people from one Canadian province suffer from a disease that cannot be recognized by local doctors. Symptoms are similar to neurodegenerative diseases, and medics are also similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, which causes degeneration of the brain and is often fatal.
- Canadian doctors investigate mysterious brain disease in New Brunswick province
- Its symptoms include irritability, muscle aches, trouble sleeping, memory and speech disorders, loss of concentration and trouble walking
- One theory was the fatal Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, also known as mad cow disease, but the prions responsible for the disease have not been found
- Doctors also test patients for the presence of toxins in the body
- The causes of the disease are still unknown
- You can find more up-to-date information on the TvoiLokony home page
A mysterious disease in the Canadian province
Doctors from the Canadian province of New Brunswick have been examining patients showing symptoms similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease for several years, looking for the causes of the disease. So far, to no avail.
The BBC wrote about the story, looking in particular at the case of Roger Ellis, sixty-year-old, a resident of the Acadian Peninsula in New Brunswick. Two years ago, Ellis suddenly passed out while celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary. Before that, he was in good health. After the fall, according to his son Steve, his health deteriorated sharply.
– He was delusional, hallucinating and seizures of echolalia. He lost weight and became aggressive, he says. – At one point he couldn’t even walk. After three months, we went to the hospital where we heard that my father was dying, but no one knows why, Steve added.
Roger Ellis’ doctors initially suspected Creutzfeldt-Jakob [CJD] disease. CJD, also known as mad cow disease, is a disease caused by proteins called prions, a rare and deadly degenerative disease of the brain with symptoms including memory problems, changes in behavior and difficulties with coordination.
One of the forms of the disease is called a variant of the disease (vCJD) that is associated with the consumption of meat infected with mad cow disease (BSE). CJD also belongs to the category of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and ALS, in which proteins in the nervous system misfold leading to pathology.
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (spongiform degeneration of the brain)
However, Mr. Ellis’s CJD test was negative. Like many other tests that are performed to diagnose the disease. The cause of the collapse and the disease is still unknown.
Currently, Ellis is under the care of a neurologist, Dr. Aliera Marrero. His condition has stabilized since the aforementioned rapid disease progression. He is in a nursing home, he needs help with everyday activities, he has problems with speech and sleep all the time.
Mysterious disease – what are the symptoms?
Dr. Alier Marrero, a neurologist at Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Center in Moncton says doctors first encountered this mysterious disease in 2015. It was a single, “atypical” case. Since then, the number of patients affected by this disease has increased.
Currently, doctors from New Brunswick are taking care of 48 cases (24 men and 24 women).. Patients are between the ages of 18 and 85, exclusively from the Acadian Peninsula and the province of Moncton. So far, six people have died from the disease.
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Most patients started experiencing symptoms in 2018, one of them experienced symptoms as early as 2013. According to Dr. There are many possible symptoms of Marrero and they occur in different combinations in different patients.
First of all, these are changes in behavior – increased irritability, anxiety, attacks of depression, there are also pains and cramps of unknown origin, especially in the muscles. Often there are problems with sleep – insomnia, excessive sleepiness, sleep hallucinations, as well as memory impairment. There are also speech disorders, communication problems, stuttering and the constant repetition of certain words, as well as auditory hallucinations.
Some patients also experience weight loss, muscle wasting, blurred vision, and difficulty concentrating. Many have problems with walking, need the support of another person or even a wheelchair while walking.
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Several patients have also experienced Capgars syndrome, a mental disorder in which the patient believes that people close to him or her have been replaced by identical-looking scammers.
Scientists are looking for the causes
A team of scientists and federal public health agents led by Dr. Marrero carries out detailed tests to diagnose the disease. Patients are tested for the presence of prions, genetic, autoimmune and oncological diseases, and the presence of viruses, bacteria, fungi, heavy metals and harmful antibodies are checked.
Patients are asked about environmental factors, lifestyle, travels, illnesses, as well as food and water sources.
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So far, no cure has been found, the treatment is to relieve some of the symptoms. Rather, the genetic basis of the disease has been ruled out, the disease is considered acquired. There were also no signs of prion-related diseases, although this hypothesis was not completely ruled out.
“At first, we thought that some toxic element in the body was responsible for the disease, causing the degenerative changes,” says Dr. Marrero.
One theory was that patients were chronically exposed to excitotoxins, such as domoic acid, accumulated by fish and marine molluscs, which caused mass food poisoning in Canada in 1987. The source at that time was contaminated clams from Prince Edward Island next to New Brunswick.
Over 100 people were hospitalized then. In addition to gastrointestinal disturbances, a third of patients also reported dizziness, confusion and memory loss. Four people died.
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New Brunswick doctors are also looking at another toxin, 3-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), that underlies degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. BMAA is produced by cyanobacteria, also known as cyanobacteria.
The list of possible theories is still open.
Dr. Marrero is concerned that the disease may be more widespread than in Moncton and the Acadian Peninsula. – Perhaps this is just the tip of the iceberg. I hope that we will be able to find a solution quickly so that we can stop the disease – says the neurologist.
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