The only common factor between these patients is Dr. Marrero.
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A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
31–40 of 162 posts
Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#32I watched a documentary about Morgellons, and the patients would often seem quite reasonable at first, but the more they spoke, and the more they described their symptoms, the crazier they sounded. One patient, whose brother, ironically, was a physician (and one skeptical of Morgellons as anything other than delusional parasitosis), seemed earnest, if intense, in describing how Morgellons had destroyed his quality of…
Besides that fact that in this particular case there probably really is 'something' (it would be rare for the brain to spontaneously exhibit CJD symptoms, though it does happen this would most likely not lead to a cluster of cases), you don't need to propose an infectious disease for people that say they have symptoms where there are none, when there is ample proof of people being able to influence each other into be…
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Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#33I was diagnosed with a mysterious tachycardia last year, coincidental to this headline: while I was living in Canada.
At one point I checked into the ER with a resting heart rate around 200 BPM, and on some days my smartwatch couldn’t even detect a pulse because it was racing so fast.
I eventually recovered-though I still avoid wearing smart devices because seeing my heart rate triggers anxiety-but the whole period ended without a root cause and with me just being put on heartrate reducers for a while.
I really feel for anyone dealing with "mystery" medical conditions. It’s a tough place to be.
Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#34The only common factor between these patients is Dr. Marrero.
Hadn't heard that angle, found this article worth a read. Apparently few patients had a second evaluation.
https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2165181/allier-marrero-...
Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
If it was glyphosates, this would be a much more widespread problem. Roundup/glyphosates are used extensively all across the US and we would be seeing similar statistics everywhere.
Also it's "glyphosate", right? Not "glyphosates". It's not like some weird class of industrial chemicals; it's a specific herbicide, used since 1975, more commonly known as Roundup, notable because Monsanto owns patents on genetically-modified crops that are resistant to it.
They're probably referring to the different salts (isopropylamine (IPA), potassium, or diammonium) which can greatly affect absorption and effectiveness
Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
The region in NB where this issue is occurring is the hub for NB's and North America's forestry industry. Over 40% of all harvested forest land in NB is treated with glyphosate [0]. Commercial forestry at JD Irving's scale largely died out in much of the US excluding Maine (where it is also has inordinate political power [1][2]). [0] - https://www.conservationcouncil.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/0... [1] - https://them…
Glyphosate , not "glyphosates". Roundup. It's used everywhere . It's an extremely widely used herbicide.
Yes, but almost the entire cluster of the NB cases are around Caraquet NB, which is completely surrounded by softwood plantations, and this has been a case they have been fighting for years.
Additionally, Industrial scale lumber harvesting uses magnitudes more Glyphosate than a home gardener or your local HOA.
Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#37I watched a documentary about Morgellons, and the patients would often seem quite reasonable at first, but the more they spoke, and the more they described their symptoms, the crazier they sounded. One patient, whose brother, ironically, was a physician (and one skeptical of Morgellons as anything other than delusional parasitosis), seemed earnest, if intense, in describing how Morgellons had destroyed his quality of…
Perhaps a bit tangential to the main topic, but it is of course true that UTIs can adversely affect cognition in the elderly, even precipitate delirium, etc., depending on type and severity of infection. Naturally that also occurs with other sources of infection, and factors including intoxication due to drugs (prescribed or otherwise) and a host of others. Vulnerability to such decompensation is greater among those already functioning marginally. As such accurate diagnosis can be hard to establish particularly when multiple factors are implicated, hardly a rare circumstance. (At least in my physician-practice that's frequently been the case.)
I appreciate your comment pointing to the importance of carefully evaluating individuals manifesting new onset delusional ideation or other "mental" disturbance. It might be associated with an obscure condition, but likely enough it's the result of common maladies. The worst error is thinking one knows what's going on before (or not at all) thoroughly investigating the possibilities.
Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#38Its hard not to see this as FND and similar conditions with a cult of personality around a charming but misguided doctor. Lang's team really seems to have solved this mystery, but some patients seem to prefer the allure of a mystery illness and the one young lady in the article seems to have munchausen by proxy-esque parents.
The article ends in a heart breaking way. The one woman is applying for MAID. I wonder if she had better care if she could have been properly diagnosed and treated. Instead, she is going to try to end her life.
I think there's a real indictment here about how liberal Canada's MAID program is which the article glosses over.
Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#39Part of the concern is the structural opposition to clarity in a response. I don't know if this runs along party lines, or interpersonal relationships, or a state/national funding issue in public health, but something about how the problem was handled and public trust has gone badly wrong. It's entirely possible as for cancer clusters there is no single causative agent. That stuff demands really careful thoughtful ha…
What did ME and what post covid syndrome show?
The NIH/RECOVER programme and equivalents worldwide provide a path to treatment for ME/CFS. Prior to covid, substantive funding for ME research was too small to explore disease pathways and diagnostics. Many ME sufferers were told their disease was solely treatable with CBT, and lacked aetiology. Basically, they were denied any validation of having a disease.
The NB thing, right now is "no common cause" and probably would stay there, but the patients deserve some basic respect and their concerns should be acknowledged. Handling small cohorts is hard. A lot of public health funding could be wasted but then things like prion disease, AGS emerge. Tick Bourne diseases in Australia receive short shrift because "they have never been seen here" but there is no domestic testing regime, it's expensive, and treatment (long term antibiotics) run counter to general views on risk/reward issues.
I'm not a health professional. I have a lot of respect for public health and epidemiology, the corner cases interest me. For ME, covid provided "evidence" which public health could use. Maybe for the NB thing something similar will emerge. I don't think Morgellens is going to turn out to be in the same bucket, I do think this is a socially acquired mental illness but perhaps I am unfair?
Re: A battle over Canada’s mystery brain disease
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Glyphosate , not "glyphosates". Roundup. It's used everywhere . It's an extremely widely used herbicide.
Yes, but almost the entire cluster of the NB cases are around Caraquet NB, which is completely surrounded by softwood plantations, and this has been a case they have been fighting for years . Additionally, Industrial scale lumber harvesting uses magnitudes more Glyphosate than a home gardener or your local HOA.
I don't doubt something specific is going on there, but it's unlikely it's Roundup, since every suburb in North America is carpet-bombed with the stuff.