15-year-old Delhi Girl With 3 Rare Neurological Conditions Successfully Operated

When a 15-year-old girl was rushed to the Indraprastha Apollo Hospital (Delhi), her parents hardly imagined that she would undergo successful treatment for three rare neurological diseases simultaneously. As per the News 18 Hindi report, even the doctors were shocked to see a girl suffering from this health condition. They, however, didn’t lose hope and started treating the girl to save her from these neurological problems. As per the health experts, this was the first instance that a patient had three rare health ailments namely Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis, Miller-Fisher Syndrome and Axonal Neuropathy. Expert doctors identified these diseases by performing diagnostic tests through different methods and were able to treat the patient successfully within 5 days. According to the doctors, Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis is a rare, autoimmune disease that impacts the central nervous system. Miller-Fisher Syndrome (MFS) is a neurological condition that causes mild to severe muscle weakness. Lastly, Axonal Neuropathy is a condition that can affect the central and peripheral nervous system.

As per the information by Indraprastha Hospital, the patient had symptoms like instability, difficulty in speaking, double vision, difficulty in swallowing, and impaired consciousness. While being admitted to the hospital, the patient’s condition degraded rapidly and she started facing other serious symptoms as well. These included facial distortion, drooling, and difficulty in closing the right eye.

A neurologist named Dr PN Renzen supervised the treatment of this patient and initially performed medical tests like Magnetic resonance imaging and nerve conduction study. MRI is a medical imaging technique that uses a magnetic field and computer-generated radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues in the body. NCS test measures how fast an electrical impulse moves through your nerve. These tests detected the nervous disorders in the body of the 15-year-old patient.

Post the detection, the doctors treated the patient with the intravenous immunoglobulin drug for about five days and also treated her with a tracheostomy procedure. After a comprehensive course of treatment and careful management, the patient showed significant improvement in her medical condition and has now been discharged from the hospital.