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Progressive neurological disease in young people in the Canadian province continues to worry experts. Insomnia, hallucinations, rapid cognitive decline – these are its main symptoms. The scariest fact is that the condition seems to evolve very quickly, and there are likely to be many more cases than official statistics show.
- A mysterious disease has been developing in one of the Canadian provinces since last spring. 48 cases have been documented, but in reality there are probably several times more
- The main symptoms suggest a neurological disorder: insomnia, hallucinations, and difficulty thinking
- Scientists want to start an in-depth study to determine the cause of the disease. The obstacle is resistance from provincial authorities, which say that the similarity of symptoms in young patients is coincidental and that they are different, unrelated diseases
- More information can be found on the Onet homepage
An expert from Vitalité Health Network, one of the two health authorities in the province of New Brunswick, Canada, informed The Guardian that people who had never had any health problems reported worrying symptoms. They complain, inter alia, for rapid weight loss, trouble sleeping, hallucinations, difficulty thinking and moving. It started in the early spring of 2021 and so far there are 48 documented cases of the mysterious disease, but experts say there may be up to 150 people sick and there is still no specific diagnosis. According to specialists, research is necessary.
– I am really concerned about these cases because they seem to be evolving so fast – told The Guardian an anonymous employee of the Vitalité Health Network. “I’m worried about the patients, we owe them some explanation,” he added.
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Symptoms in people from close environment of the sick
Apart from the above-mentioned 48 patients There have been at least nine cases where similar symptoms developed in close contact with patients, but with no genetic link. This suggests a possible influence of environmental factors on the development of the disease. One suspicious case involved a man who developed symptoms of dementia and ataxia. His wife, who was his carer, suddenly complained of insomnia, experiencing muscle wasting, memory loss, and hallucinations. Now her condition is worse than his.
Another patient is just over 30 years old, does not speak, is tube-fed and drooling excessively. Her carer, a nursing student in her twenties, also started showing signs of worsening neurological condition recently.
- Check it out: Hallucinations
A Vitalité employee who asked that his name not be disclosed said that the disease is not unique to that one Canadian province and that these cases require further in-depth analysis. Research of this type is carried out by the Special Clinic of Neurodegenerative Disorders, also known as the Clinic of the Mind. It is here that verification is made whether a given patient has such and not another disease. Determining this is not easy, because the brain is an organ that is extremely difficult to study. In fact, confidence is often only obtained after the patient dies, when his brain tissue can be fully tested.
- Younger people are also affected by dementia and alzheimer’s disease. How to recognize? Unusual symptoms
The obstacle to starting the research is that the provincial authorities are trying to downplay the problem. So far, despite severe symptoms in patients, the province has tried to suppress fears, suggesting that perhaps the patients did suffer from various, unrelated diseases, and that the diagnosis made in spring 2021 was wrong.
In October, authorities also said that, according to an epidemiological report, no significant evidence had been found of any factor (food, behavior or environmental conditions) that could explain the disease.
Now, however, the anxiety is growing, mainly due to the age of the sick. Young people rarely suffer from neurological problems.
Scientists are ready to research
At the moment, we have no way of interpreting the simple data that can be obtained when testing brain tissue for a specific toxin. For example, if there is an elevated level of neurotoxin compared to the rest of the population, told The Guardian, a Canadian scientist who preferred to remain anonymous.
The expert added that the teams are ready to start the research, but the provincial authorities of New Brunswick have not yet agreed to continue the work. A report is currently being prepared to determine whether the 48 documented cases of the mysterious disease are actually the disease or whether the diagnosis was wrong. The situation between experts and provincial authorities is tense, there is even speculation that the Clinic of the Mind will close, but these rumors were denied in early December by Health Minister Dorothy Shepard.
“We keep telling patients that the country is behind them and that tests will be done so we can figure it out. We tell them that we will get to the bottom of the matter so that they can be helped – said the employee of Vitalité. – And so far it has not happened.
- DMAE is a dietary supplement whose active ingredients support the proper functioning of the brain. You can buy at Medonet Market
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