Doctors in Canada are concerned they may be dealing with a previously unknown brain disease after a number of cases involving memory loss, hallucinations and muscle atrophy.
Politicians in New Brunswick province have sought answers, but in so few cases, experts say there are far more questions than answers, and have urged the public not to panic. For more than a year, public health officials have been tracking a "group" of 43 cases of suspected neurological disease in the province without any known cause.
Residents first learned of the investigation last week after a note from the provincial public health agency urged doctors to look for symptoms similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - a rare, fatal brain disease caused by malformed proteins of the brain. known as prions.
A number of symptoms including memory loss, vision problems, and abnormal movements triggered alarm in experts. Despite the initial similarities, screening saw no resemblance to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Now a team of researchers is trying to determine if they are dealing with a previously unknown neurological syndrome, or a series of known diseases.
Experts say patients initially complained of unexplained pain, spasms and behavioral changes - all symptoms that can be easily diagnosed as anxiety or depression. But at 18 to 36 months they began to develop memory loss, muscle loss, falls and uncontrollable movement. A number of patients also began to experience frightening hallucinations, including the sensation of insects crawling on the skin.
Health officials have refused to reveal the exact locations of the cases.
"We do not know what causes it. At this time we only have more patients who appear to have this syndrome," said Dr. Alier Marrero, a neurologist leading the New Brunswick investigation.
Sources: Live Science, Guardian
