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An 18-year-old suddenly can no longer walk and sees double. Doctors discover that he has a previously unknown autoimmune disease that attacks the cerebellum.
Hanover – Imagine that instead of protecting you, it is your bodyguard who attacks and injures you. In abstract terms, this is roughly how autoimmune diseases work. In the mistaken belief that it is fighting pathogens, the immune system attacks its own body. In the case of an 18-year-old, it attacks the important cerebellum – and rapidly decomposes it.
Previously unknown autoimmune disease attacks cerebellum
He can no longer walk safely, has difficulty expressing himself clearly and his eyesight is deteriorating rapidly: the fact that a previously physically and mentally fit 18-year-old suddenly shows such serious health problems is astonishing even to the medical community.
Initially, viral or bacterial diseases were suspected, but after these could not be found, further tests were carried out. A blood test finally provided the answer: the 18-year-old suffers from a form of cerebellar ataxia, as the specialist team at the Hannover Medical School (MHH) in a report This neurological disorder in the cerebellum is caused by certain autoantibodies and is considered an autoimmune disease.
What is an autoimmune disease?
Due to a malfunction, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy structures in the body instead of harmful cells and substances. The antibodies cannot distinguish between the body’s own and foreign substances, which can lead to inflammation or a degenerative effect. Chronic diseases are the result. The most common forms of the disease include the chronic intestinal disease Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis or type 1 diabetes. Autoimmune diseases accompany sufferers throughout their lives.
Source: MSD Manual
The disease causes severe inflammation in the area of the brain that is responsible, among other things, for human movement. “This important area in the back of the brain acts as a conductor, so to speak, to coordinate our movements and keep us in balance,” says the MHH on its website.
In just two weeks: Inflammation in the brain spreads and causes it to shrink
In addition to the 18-year-old, the medical team led by Professor Dr. Kurt-Wolfram Sühs diagnosed the same disease in three other patients. In contrast to the previously known forms of cerebellar ataxia, this newly discovered form progresses extremely quickly. Within two weeks, one patient showed severe symptoms.
In addition to the motor and sensory problems, severe visual symptoms were added, and the patient suddenly began to see double. MRI scans also showed that the patient’s cerebellum had lost a lot of substance. The research results were published in the Trade magazine Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry published.
New autoimmune disease so far only found in young people
The cause of this particular form of autoimmune disease is still unclear. The research team at MHH suspects that both tumors and strokes can trigger it, and that there is also a connection to individual genetics. The latter could explain why the disease has so far been diagnosed primarily in younger people, as the risk of a stroke tends to increase with age.
None of the four patients examined was older than 34 years. There was no evidence of previous illnesses. “The people affected were independent and healthy before the onset of the disease,” stresses research director Sühs in his report. Therefore, a targeted form of therapy for the disease is still lacking.
However, treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs has sustainably improved the condition of the four patients, according to the neurologist. The drug used was Rituximab, a proven active ingredient in immune diseases.
Like a Trojan horse – risk of secondary disease increases with treatment of autoimmune diseases
Autoimmune diseases are usually difficult to treat and currently incurable. Current studies suggest that corona disease could exacerbate certain autoimmune diseases. It is also still unclear why autoimmune diseases predominantly affect women.
A special form of blood dialysis can only suppress such a malfunction of the body’s own immune system, and it does so “relatively untargeted,” explains neurologist Sühs. However, those affected are often particularly susceptible to other illnesses, as the treatment involves drugs that weaken the immune system. This would reduce the faulty fight against healthy cells, but would also open the door to harmful cells. Many of those affected develop cancer.
But as with cancer, early detection of autoimmune diseases is imminent. “The early detection of autoantibodies can be crucial for the diagnosis of this rapidly progressing cerebellitis and immediate treatment,” emphasizes the expert. (rku)