A mysterious brain disease is putting Canada’s New Brunswick province on edge, which has so far reported 48 official cases. It’s about a strange syndrome whose cause has not yet been identified by doctors.
According to an employee of Vitalité Health Network one of the two health authorities of the Canadian province, suspected cases of this disease are increasing more and more in the young since it was first announced in 2021. It is believed that as many as 150 people can currently suffer from it.
The complainant, who preferred not to reveal his name, told British media The Guardian that the new cases under investigation are presenting worrying symptoms without triggering factors. These include the rapid weight loss, hallucinations, insomnia, shortness of breath, and limited mobility.
“I am really concerned about these cases because they seem to evolve so fast,” said the source. “We owe them some kind of explanation,” he added.
A man under suspicion – he detailed – was presenting signs of dementia and ataxia. Likewise, his wife, who was his caregiver, also had symptoms and insomnia and began to experience muscle atrophy, dementia and hallucinations. Her condition is currently worse than his.
The same scenario is described for a nursing student who cared for a 30-year-old patient who was fed through a tube and was a suspected case of this syndrome. Now the 20-year-old has a clear neurological deterioration.
The Vitalité employee explains that this and other situations suggest that it could be a disease that spreads due to environmental factors and not genetic links.
“This is not a disease of New brunswick“Said the employee. “We are probably the area that is raising the flag because we are mainly rural and in an area where people could be more exposed to environmental factors,” he added.
The mysterious neurological disease was identified by experts in the province of New Brunswick in approximately 2015. In that year, only the case of a patient with a “rare and atypical” disease was recorded, said Dr. Alier Marrero, a neurologist at the Center Dr. Georges-L-Dumont University Hospital in Moncton.
As time went by, more cases with similar symptoms appeared to officially add 48. Doctors now report it as a “never seen before” neurological condition. It is known to affect men and women equally. The ages they affect are between 18 and 85 years old.
To date, nine people have died from this disease.
Source-larepublica.pe