pat 1 of 2

origial article didnt mention any patient names or the letter Q

2nd article from yesterday is repeated verbatim with names and age 33 and Q

https://globalnews.ca/news/7917531/nb-mysterious-brain-syndrome-june-3/

By Alex Cooke Global News

Posted June 3, 2021 11:23 am

Updated June 3, 2021 6:39 pm

New Brunswick Public Health is working with both of the province’s health networks to investigate a neurological syndrome of an unknown cause that has affected dozens of New Brunswickers.

So far, 48 people have shown symptoms of the mysterious brain disease, and six deaths are attributed to it.

“The discovery of a potentially new and unknown syndrome is scary,” said Health Minister Dorothy Shephard during a news conference Thursday.

“I know New Brunswickers are concerned and confused about this potential neurological syndrome. I share in that concern.”

Shephard said the province is creating a new joint oversight committee to review the 48 cases.

READ MORE: Researcher says all theories considered in neurological syndrome investigation

The new committee will be co-chaired by Dr. Édouard Hendriks, the vice-president of Horizon Health Network’s medical, academic and research affairs, and Dr. Natalie Banville, the vice-president of medical affairs for the Vitalité Health Network.

It will also include six neurologists and one member from Public Health.

“The mandate of the oversight committee is to provide expert second opinions on the identified cases, to ensure due diligence and to rule out other potential causes,” said Shephard.

She said that work will include, but is not limited to, reviewing case definitions, medical charts and recommendations for further lab testing, identifying individuals or their contacts who might need further testing, identifying gaps in medical records and where they can improve, identifying potential requirements for further lab testing, and scanning potentially applicable research.

No diagnosis

Doctors in New Brunswick began identifying some people with an “unusual combination of neurological symptoms” in early 2020.

“Despite extensive medical investigation, a diagnosis for the 48 individuals identified in this cluster has not yet been determined,” said Shephard. “These 48 individuals require additional investigation.”

Symptoms include:

Memory problems.

Muscle spasms.

Balance issues, difficulty walking or falls.

Blurred vision or visual hallucinations.

Unexplained, significant weight loss.

Behaviour changes.

Pain in the upper or lower limbs.

In April, Public Health began contacting people who have shown symptoms to participate in a survey in an attempt to figure out a potential cause. So far, five surveys have been conducted and another five will be conducted this week.

The new committee aims to review all of the cases over the next four months, allowing a further six to eight weeks to interview all patients and their families.

READ MORE: Sixth death has been linked to mysterious brain syndrome in New Brunswick

Shephard said that timeline will also depend on the availability of the neurologists.

While a number of similarities were drawn between the mystery syndrome and Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease, the most common form of human prion disease, all test results for known forms of prion disease have come back negative.

Most of the individuals under investigation were living in the southeastern and northeastern regions of New Brunswick, though the province said their investigation has found no evidence that residents of those regions are more at risk than those living elsewhere in the province.

Shephard said the province is working with a number of federal bodies to investigate the disease, including the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance System (CJDSS), the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s zoonotics division and subject matter experts from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

They are also working with some provincial bodies, like the Department of Environment and the Department of Aquaculture, as well as local governments.

“This investigation is larger than a single neurologist, or even the CJDSS could do on their own,” she said. “We must all work together to ensure the work is done, and the investigation robust.”

Shephard declined to say if the experts are investigating any specific environmental factors.

“We can’t have a narrow focus here. We must examine any and all possibilities, and as those possibilities evolve, we’ll certainly share them with you,” she told reporters.

“We need to allow the science to do their investigation and their work, and by focusing on any one element could just take us in the wrong direction.”

>>15539307

part 2

https://www.insider.com/symptoms-of-mystery-brain-disorder-in-canada-trouble-walking-talking-2022-2

At least 48 people in Canada have come down with symptoms indicative of a brain disease.

Episodes of pain are often followed by trouble walking, speaking, or performing basic tasks.

Officials say they've ruled out environmental causes and human transmission, but they don't have a diagnosis yet.

Dozens of New Brunswick residents have been struck with mysterious symptoms that point to a degenerative brain disorder, and authorities still don't have an explanation for the debilitating illness.

A report leaked in March 2021 noted a cluster of cases of what looked like Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: spasms, memory loss, hallucinations, and severe

weight loss

as the condition keeps people from being active.

At the time, 48 cases had been identified, with symptoms starting between 2013 and 2020. However, a separate whistleblower from one of New Brunswick's health authorities told the Guardian that the mysterious illness had affected close to 150 by January 2022, and that many of those who got sick were young, previously healthy adults.

An investigation into the cases, previously headed by Canadian federal scientists, has lagged since it fell on the province. Provincial officials have promised to publish another report about the cases soon, but the public as well as patients and families are still awaiting information, Leyland Cecco wrote for The Guardian.

But there's still no report, and the case data on New Brunswick's public health website hasn't been updated since May 2021. People sickened with the illness don't even know what to call it, as there's no name or official diagnosis for the mysterious neurological disease.

Leg pain that turned into vision loss was diagnosed as PTSD

For Terriline Porelle, it began with an "electric shock" pain in her leg during the summer of 2020, she told the Guardian. The pain crept up her arms and to her face in the days that followed. Soon, the 33-year-old's vision was like that of a 70-year-old, one optometrist told her.

One day, Porelle forgot how to write the letter "Q," and she went to a doctor for a brain scan. It came back normal, and provincial officials referred her to a neuropsychologist.

The specialist told Porelle she likely had PTSD. But Porelle has faced mental health challenges before, and she said the symptoms she has now are nothing like the anxiety and

depression

she's had in the past. She still struggles with declining mental function and says she relies on her partner for help with daily tasks.

"We've been given no resources from the government and no help," she said. "I don't know what to do. I try to keep positive, but it's hard. There are days when I don't know if I should even bother saving for retirement. Am I even going to live that long?"

Patients worry the investigation has slowed down

The January whisteblower told the Guardian that many cases with the symptom cluster have yet to be processed by the province, and many of the cases in backlog are among young people.

Of the cases reported so far, ages have ranged from 18 to 85. Nine people with illness have died, although the province notes that six of those individuals died of other known causes.

Previously, officials investigated and ruled out several environmental factors that could be causing the illness: blue-green algae, toxicity in shellfish, chronic wasting disease, or a toxic herbicide. None of the explanations have stuck, and some of the early patients have been left out of the loop.

Johanne Boucher, 63, told the Guardian she recently received a letter that said investigators would no longer be looking into her case. They suggested that she get some more tests — tests she said she had already taken — because her symptoms could be explained by Parkinson's disease or another form of brain degeneration.

For Boucher, who "can't even order a coffee" after completely losing her speech in late 2021, the news came as a shock. Her ability to speak deteriorated over four years, and she still doesn't have an explanation.