New Brunswick has no mystery neurological illness, committee finds

Almost one year after the New Brunswick government sounded alarm about "a distinct atypical neurological syndrome" causing symptoms ranging from muscle spasms to visual hallucinations, the province now says there is no mystery neurological illness.

That comes after an oversight committee made up primarily of neurologists from New Brunswick reviewed records from 48 patients who are part of the cluster, concluding most are likely suffering from known diseases.

"The committee found that out of 48 cases, none fulfilled the full criteria of the case definition [for the unknown syndrome]," says a report from the committee, released on Thursday.

"In light of these findings, the committee concluded that although some of the cases have presentations with unusual symptomology, they do not appear to have a common illness with an unknown etiology and there is no evidence of a cluster of neurological syndrome of unknown cause."

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell acknowledged on Thursday that these people are clearly quite ill.

"It means they are ill with a known neurological condition," Russell said.

The committee's review found "potential alternative diagnoses" for 41 of the 48 patients, including illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, post-concussion syndrome and cancer.

Within the last few weeks, patients who are part of the cluster of 48 began receiving letters from the provincial government, suggesting they may have an alternative diagnosis.

Johanne Boucher of Caraquet received one of those letters last month. Her letter suggested a few possible causes for her symptoms, including Parkinson's disease.

"I don't have an answer to my condition. It is nothingness," Boucher said in a January interview with Radio-Canada.

The oversight committee "could not conclude that the main referring neurologist had sought second opinions" for the patients before determining they had an unknown illness. The report doesn't mention him by name, but Dr. Alier Marrero has treated most of the patients who make up the cluster and in the fall told Radio-Canada he stood by his theory.

In the future, the committee recommended a second specialist should do a review to determine whether a patient has a new and unknown disease. If they don't agree, a board of specialty doctors should review the case.

"This would implement a mechanism of oversight to ensure this due diligence is completed before any further investigations or clustering of cases take place," the report says.

A report released by Public Health New Brunswick at the same time found shortcomings in the way the province communicated about the potential illness and problems with sharing information between two levels of government.