Brain on Fire

Did anyone catch the interview on "Fresh Air" with Susanna Cahalan who recently wrote the memoir "Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness" ?

As the title suggest it is an harrowing story of terrible insanity- she was finally (and luckily - early all doctors missed it) diagnosed with an autoimmune disease where she has antibodies to certain brain receptors.

IVIG and (it sounded like, wasn't clear) prednisone sent her into remission.

Makes most ITP sound like a lark.-

Mark

I didn't see it, but now I want to read the book. Sounds quite scary!

I saw an interview with the author yesterday on the Today Show. I didn't hear any mention of IVIG but the interview focused more on a case of another young woman who went through the same thing. The young woman's aunt saw Susanna Cahalan interviewed on the Today Show about two years ago, which triggered a thought that her niece was similarly suffering. The doctors tested for the autoimmune disease and ended up saving her life. Very scary!

So what was the condition?

Edit: Okay I found the answer myself.. anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22875940

I heard the Fresh Air piece, too, and found it fascinating and scary. The connection to our own pet autoimmune disorder and its similar treatment (IVIG and steroids) was interesting. I remembered how frightened I was when my daughter was first diagnosed with ITP, but Cahalan's parents must have been absolutely terrified for their daughter before she was diagnosed. She was fortunate to have one especially dedicated doctor who didn't simply think she was insane but took the time to puzzle it out. I wish more research was focused on causes and treatments for autoimmunity, and not simply treating the affected body parts/systems. Sandi, and others interested, you can probably hear the interview as a podcast by going to the NPR website and then to Fresh Air. They podcast most, if not all, of the interviews. (Confessed NPR geek here.)
Norma

Thanks. I'll check it out!