An unknown disease? The mysterious symptoms in the brain surprise doctors

Doctors in Canada are concerned that they may be dealing with a brain disease unknown earlier after a number of cases involving memory loss, hallucinations, and atrophy.

Politicians in the province of New Brunswick have requested answers, but with so few cases, experts say there are many more questions than answers and have urged the public not to spread panic. For more than a year, public health officials have followed a “group” of 43 cases of alleged neurological disease in the province without any known cause.

Residents first learned about the investigation last week after a note by the province's public health agency urged doctors to seek symptoms similar to Creutzfel's disease. dt - Jacob a rare, fatal brain disease caused by misformed proteins known as priones.

A number of symptoms including memory loss, visual problems, and abnormal movements caused alarm in experts. Despite initial similarities, the depistation did not see similarities with the Creutzfeldt-Jacomb disease.

Now a team of researchers are trying to determine whether to deal with a previously unknown neurological syndrome or a series of known diseases.

Experts say patients initially complained of inexplicable pain, spasm, and changes of behavior all symptoms that could easily be diagnosed as anxiety or depression. But in 18 to 36 months they began developing memory declines, muscle loss, collapses, and uncontrolled movements. A number of patients also began to experience frightening hallucinations, including the feeling of insects that crawled into their skin.

Health officials have refused to reveal the exact locations of the cases.

We don't know what causes it. At this time, only more patients appear to have this syndrome,” Dr. Alier Marrero, a neurolog leading the investigation of New Brunswick.