'The dementia that can be cured' - Guardian article about autoimmune neurological diseases, 2020

[Trish]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/oct/25/the-dementia-that-can-be-cured

The dementia that can be cured

There are more than 200 subtypes of dementia. And researchers have found that in one, confusion and memory loss can be treated. But the trick is to spot it…
[...]
Dementia is not just one disease – it has more than 200 different subtypes. Over the past decade neurologists have become increasingly interested in one particular subtype, known as autoimmune dementia. In this condition, the symptoms of memory loss and confusion are the result of brain inflammation caused by rogue antibodies – known as autoantibodies – binding to the neuronal tissue, rather than an underlying neurodegenerative disease. Crucially this means that unlike almost all other forms of dementia, in some cases it can be cured, andspecialist neurologists have become increasingly adept at both spotting and treating it.
[...]
But autoimmune dementia is also an illustration of a broader trend. Over the past 15 years, treatable diseases have been identified across an entire spectrum of neurological illnesses from epilepsy to multiple sclerosis and psychiatry, all caused by autoantibodies binding to different parts of the brain and central nervous system.
[...]
Since 2004, scientists have been steadily discovering the autoantibodies behind these various neurological conditions, making it possible for clinics to test for them. Irani says that so far they have discovered approximately 25, with one or two new autoantibodies detected every year.

Treatments mentioned include steroids, rituximab and plasma exchange.

 

[Mij]

Years ago a Canadian doctor was saying that chlamydia pneumoniae could be implicated as a risk factor for some late-onset AD patients, and that he treated patients with abx with positive results. He also said they found this pathogen in autopsied brains of AD patients, and that it shouldn't be there.

 

[Arnie Pye]

There are more than 200 subtypes of dementia. And researchers have found that in one, confusion and memory loss can be treated. But the trick is to spot it…

There is another kind of dementia that can be cured, or at the very least deterioration can be slowed down. It's estimated to be the cause of about 5% - 6% of cases of dementia. That condition is Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH). It is a condition that is normally associated with the elderly, but that is probably because that is when it is normally discovered, if it is discovered at all i.e. when the sufferer is old. If NPH is discovered it can be treated with surgery if deterioration hasn't gone too far. Note that NPH - despite the name - doesn't always occur with normal pressure in the head/brain - it can be elevated too, so I've never understood the name.

I was diagnosed with the condition a few years ago and have had surgery for it. It was an accidental finding that showed up in an MRI scan I had. Further investigation suggested that my condition had developed in the womb, in infancy or in childhood. I can't remember how the doctors could work out that my condition had been around so long. But knowing I have this condition has made me ultra-paranoid about developing dementia, not surprisingly.

 

[Arnie Pye]

Over the past decade neurologists have become increasingly interested in one particular subtype, known as autoimmune dementia. In this condition, the symptoms of memory loss and confusion are the result of brain inflammation caused by rogue antibodies – known as autoantibodies – binding to the neuronal tissue, rather than an underlying neurodegenerative disease. Crucially this means that unlike almost all other forms of dementia, in some cases it can be cured, and specialist neurologists have become increasingly adept at both spotting and treating it.

From personal experience I would suggest that gluten can cause this problem. My brain fog/ability to think gets worse if I eat gluten despite testing negative for Crohn's disease. My balance, which is also affected by the NPH I mentioned in my previous post, is also affected badly by gluten. There is a known condition, quite newly described I think, called gluten ataxia. It definitely creates dementia-like symptoms in me. It's just a shame that doctors think I am one of the people easily led astray by what I read on the internet. But, I can assure you, I would start eating gluten again if I could do so without suffering worse than usual brain fog, and without my balance getting worse.

I fantasise about eating jam doughnuts quite often.

 

[alktipping]

neurological illnesses from epilepsy to multiple sclerosis and psychiatry, all caused by autoantibodies binding to different parts of the brain and central nervous system. i like the part that says psychiatry can be a neurological illness explains a lot