They are from 18 to 85 years old, they are both men and women, they are 42 in all and declare symptoms which evoke the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, without being affected. It’s been going on since 2015 and neurologists still don’t understand this disease, explains Radio Canada.
They have symptoms ranging from anxiety, depression, irritability, unexplained muscle pain, spasms, involuntary contractions to the point of losing the use of a limb, difficulty in talking, leading to stuttering, difficulty sleeping, hallucinations and delusions, memory impairment.
Potentially a causative toxin
First thinking that it is about Creutzfeldt-Jakob, the analyzes reveal that these patients do not have prions (an infectious agent responsible for the disease). Thus eliminating any other prion disease, which the symptoms nevertheless evoke. But by digging, this mysterious pathology does not correspond either to heavy metal poisoning, to an autoimmune disease, to cancer, a virus, a known bacterium… It does not fit in any box despite the many samples and analyzes.
At this stage, six patients have already lost their lives. Doctors lean more towards a disease acquired froman as yet unidentified infectious agent. Several toxins are being studied to understand this neurodegenerative disease. The only option available is to alleviate, as best as possible, the adverse effects experienced by patients.
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