Latest news with #neurological
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Functional electrical simulation bicycles help those with mobility impairments stay active
WATCH: As Damien Smith tells us, First Steps Wellness Centre is giving those with neurological issues a chance to pedal to the metal.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Eight-year-old suffers harrowing death from virus that's touched everyone's lives - she 'frothed at the mouth' after it spread to her brain
Experts have sounded the alarm over a rare deadly Covid side effect after a young girl was killed after the virus spread to her brain. Doctors revealed the eight year-old developed a fever and suffered multiple seizures just days after unknowingly contracting the infection. Yet she wasn't tested for Covid initially, as her symptoms had no 'identifiable trigger', according to Chinese doctors who shared her story in a medical journal. It was only after her seizures worsened leaving her 'frothing at the mouth' and her 'limbs stiffened and shook', that she was transferred to a different hospital and intubated to help her breathe. Tests then showed she had developed the rare brain disorder acute necrotising encephalopathy (ANE), which had 'likely' resulted from a Covid infection. But her condition worsened and nine days after first seeking medical attention, medics declared her brain dead and her life support was switched off. Research has previously shown Covid can reach the human brain, causing both respiratory distress and neurological issues. However, medics at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre, said there were still major 'gaps' in doctors' knowledge regarding the best way to treat children with Covid who suffer 'rapid-onset neurological decline'. Writing in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases, they added: 'Although Covid typically presents with respiratory symptoms, it can also lead to severe neurological manifestations in children.' Figures suggest at least three quarters of all British adults have been infected with Covid at least once since the pandemic began in 2020. Acute necrotising encephalopathy (ANE) occurs when the body's immune system overreacts to a common virus like Covid or flu. It is incredibly rare, with just a few hundred documented cases in medical literature. It causes widespread inflammation and tissue damage throughout the body, including the brain. This lets toxins and bacteria enter the brain and kill tissue. Over time, the brain swells and cells die. According to medics, the unidentified child's first symptoms included a temperature—just over 38°C—as well as a headache, a bumpy rash on her arms, legs and torso, and vomiting. She was taken to a local health clinic, where she was given medication that failed to ease her symptoms. The following day she experienced her first tonic-clonic seizure that had her 'frothing at the mouth'. Such seizure attacks tend to involve electrical disruption in several parts of the brain, which then affects several parts of the body. They cause muscles to stiffen arms and usually the legs begin to jerk rapidly and rhythmically. After she was transferred to a hospital in Guangzhou, she suffered another minute-long seizure that left her vomiting, and was prescribed antibiotics to treat a suspected infection. Medics stopped a third seizure the following morning by giving her diazepam but she then fell into a 'comatose state', and she was incubated to help her breathe. Transferred to a second hospital, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre, tests there revealed her saliva was positive for Covid. Rotavirus—another respiratory infection—was also detected in her stools and blood, although doctors stated the Covid virus was a more likely cause of the neurological complications. 'Despite aggressive therapy, the patient remained in profound coma without sedation', medics added. She didn't appear to feel pain, couldn't breathe for herself and had minimal brain function. Two additional medical evaluations over the following two days saw doctors determine she had been left brain dead by the virus-induced seizures. 'Covid is the more likely dominant factor in this severe encephalopathy—though a co-infection scenario cannot be fully excluded,' the authors wrote. 'Without autopsy or direct pathogen detection in the brain tissue, the definitive culprit remains uncertain.' The case also proves that children and babies do not necessarily experience milder Covid infections, they added. 'This case highlights the urgent need for early recognition of neurological complications in children with Covid. 'Clinicians should maintain heightened vigilance for atypical presentations, including rapid neurological deterioration post-infection.' In the UK, ministers have repeatedly said they won't resort to imposing lockdowns unless a doomsday Covid variant appears. A wall of immunity among the population — built up by repeated waves of infection and vaccine rollouts — has given officials confidence to consign pandemic-era measures to history. Spikes in Covid cases can still cause mass illness across the country, sparking chaos in schools, the health service and public transport. But officials also no longer track the prevalence of the virus in the same way they used to, as part of the Government's ushering in of pre-Covid normalities.
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Health
- CTV News
As easy as riding a bike
Regina Watch WATCH: As Damien Smith tells us, First Steps Wellness Centre is giving those with neurological issues a chance to pedal to the metal.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Warning as girl, 8, suffers harrowing death from virus that's infected everyone - she 'frothed at the mouth' after it spread to her brain
Experts have sounded the alarm over a rare deadly Covid side effect after a young girl was left 'brain dead' and 'frothing at the mouth'. Doctors revealed the 8-year-old developed a fever and suffered multiple seizures just days after unknowingly contracting the virus. Yet she wasn't tested for Covid initially, as her symptoms had no 'identifiable trigger', according to Chinese medics who shared her story in a journal. It was only after her seizures worsened leaving her 'frothing at the mouth' and her 'limbs stiffened and shook', that she was transferred to a different hospital and intubated to help her breathe. Tests then showed she had developed the rare brain disorder acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) 'likely' from a Covid infection. But her condition worsened and nine days after first seeking medical attention, medics declared her brain dead by the virus-induced seizures and her life support was switched off. Research has previously shown Covid can reach the human brain, causing both respiratory distress and neurological issues. However, medics at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre, said there were still major 'gaps' in doctors' knowledge of the best way to treat children with Covid who suffer 'rapid-onset neurological decline'. Writing in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases, they added: 'Although Covid typically presents with respiratory symptoms, it can also lead to severe neurological manifestations in children.' Figures suggest at least three quarters of all British adults have been infected with Covid at least once since the pandemic began in 2020. ANE, which occurs when the body's immune system overreacts to a common virus like Covid or flu, however is incredibly rare, with just a few hundred documented cases in medical literature. It causes widespread inflammation and tissue damage throughout the body, including the brain. This lets toxins and bacteria enter the brain and kill tissue. Over time, the brain swells and cells die. According to medics, the unidentified 8-year-old girl's first symptoms included a temperature—just over 38°C—as well as a headache, a bumpy rash on her arms, legs and torso, and vomiting. She was taken to a local health clinic, where she was given medication that failed to ease her symptoms. The following day she experienced her first tonic-clonic seizure that had her 'frothing at the mouth'. Such seizure attacks tend to involve electrical disruption in several parts of the brain — that then affect several parts of the body. They cause muscles to stiffen arms and usually the legs begin to jerk rapidly and rhythmically. After she was transferred to a hospital in Guangzhou, she suffered another minute-long seizure that left her vomiting and she was prescribed antibiotics to treat a suspected infection. Medics stopped a third seizure the following morning by giving her diazepam but she then fell into a 'comatose state', doctors noted and she was incubated to help her breathe. Transferred to a second hospital, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre, tests there revealed her spit was positive for Covid. Rotavirus was also detected in her stools and bacteria in her blood. 'Despite aggressive therapy, the patient remained in profound coma without sedation', medics added. She didn't appear to feel pain, couldn't breathe for herself and had minimal brain function. Two additional medical evaluations over the following two days saw doctors determine she had been left brain dead by the virus-induced seizures. 'Rotavirus was weakly positive in the stool sample, and it too can precipitate various neurological complications, including seizures and encephalitis,' they said. 'However, Covid is the more likely dominant factor in this severe encephalopathy - though a co-infection scenario cannot be fully excluded. 'Without autopsy or direct pathogen detection in the brain tissue, the definitive culprit remains uncertain.' The case also proves that children and babies do not necessarily experience milder Covid infections, they added. 'This case highlights the urgent need for early recognition of neurological complications in children with Covid. 'Clinicians should maintain heightened vigilance for atypical presentations, including rapid neurological deterioration post-infection.' In the UK, ministers have repeatedly said they won't resort to imposing lockdowns unless a doomsday Covid variant appears. A wall of immunity among the population — built up by repeated waves of infection and vaccine rollouts — has given officials confidence to consign pandemic-era measures to history. Spikes in Covid cases can still cause mass illness across the country, sparking chaos in schools, the health service and public transport. But officials also no longer track the prevalence of the virus in the same way they used to, as part of the Government's ushering in of pre-Covid normalities.
The Sun
19-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Girl, 8, ‘frothed at the mouth' and died just DAYS after common virus ‘infected her brain'
A LITTLE girl was left "frothing at the mouth" after catching a common virus, which doctors suspect spread to her brain. The eight-year-old rapidly deteriorated after suffering a series of seizures, which eventually left her "brain dead". 1 Chinese medics handling her care said a Covid-19 infection could be to blame, after she tested positive for the virus. "Although Covid-19 typically presents with respiratory symptoms, it can also lead to severe neurological manifestations in children," medics from the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre - led by Dr Tiantian Xu - wrote. There have been increasing case reports of the virus causing brain damage - including of acute necrotising encephalopathy, a rare but serious brain disease that can develop following a viral infection such as flu or Covid. But there are "gaps" in doctors' knowledge of the best way to treat children experiencing "rapid-onset neurological decline" as a result of the Covid, the report authors noted. They detailed the case of the eight-year-old girl in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases. She developed acute necrotising encephalopathy after being infected with Covid-19, which ultimately resulted in "brain death". The child's first symptoms included a temperature - just over 38°C - as well as a headache, a bumpy rash on her arms, legs and torso, and vomiting. There didn't seem to be an "identifiable trigger" for the symptoms, the report authors said. The little girl was taken to a local health clinic, where she was given medication that failed to ease her symptoms. The next day, the eight-year-old began experienced her first tonic-clonic seizure that had her "frothing at the mouth". Is little-known hMPV virus ravaging China the NEW Covid? These kinds of seizures cause muscles to stiffen arms and usually the legs begin to jerk rapidly and rhythmically The tot's "limbs stiffened and shook" and her right eye blinked during the five-minute seizure, but she returned "to a relatively good mental state" when it stopped. This prompted the girl to be transferred to a hospital in Guangzhou. She was still alert and responsive when she was admitted but suffered another one-minute-long seizure later that night, which left her vomiting afterwards. What is acute necrotising encephalopathy? Acute necrotising encephalopathy is a rare type of brain disease that occurs following a viral infection such as the flu. People with the condition display typical symptoms of an infection at first, such as fever, cough, congestion, vomiting, and diarrhoea, for a few days. Following these flu-like symptoms, people develop neurological problems, such as seizures, hallucinations and difficulty coordinating movements. Eventually, most affected patients go into a coma, which usually lasts for a number of weeks. Approximately a third of people don't survive their illness and subsequent neurological decline. Of those who do survive, about half have permanent brain damage due to tissue necrosis, resulting in impairments in walking, speech, and other basic functions. Source: Medline Plus Doctors gave her antibiotics to combat a suspected infection, as well as meds to curb a build up of acids in her blood that was revealed by tests. At midnight that night, the child became drowsy and she suffered a third seizure at 7am the next morning. Medics were able to stop it by giving her diazepam, but the little girl fell into a "comatose state". Tests suggested that there was a buildup of pressure in her brain. An hour after her seizure, the tot suffered respiratory failure occurred and she had to be intubated in order to help her breathe. She was later transferred to the Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre for continued treatment. There, medics conducted a number of tests. Samples of her spit tested positive for Covid-19, while doctors found traces of rotavirus in her stool. Meanwhile, a blood sample came back positive for Gram-positive cocci bacteria. "Despite aggressive therapy, the patient remained in profound coma without sedation", the report authors said. She didn't appear to feel pain, couldn't breathe for herself and didn't display "brainstem reflexes". Two more evaluations over the next couple days led doctors to determine that the tot had been left brain dead by the virus-induced seizures - she was declares as such nine days after being admitted. "Rotavirus was weakly positive in the stool sample, and it too can precipitate various neurological complications, including seizures and encephalitis," the report authors wrote. "However, Covid-19 is the more likely dominant factor in this severe encephalopathy - though a co-infection scenario cannot be fully excluded. "Without autopsy or direct pathogen detection in the brain tissue, the definitive culprit remains uncertain." Medic's said the girl's case goes against the assumption that children and babies experience milder Covid infections. "Our case and other published reports demonstrate that some paediatric patients can develop catastrophic neurological outcomes," they wrote. But medics noted that they couldn't "definitively prove" that a Covid virus caused acute necrotising encephalopathy, as they didn't detect the virus in the girl's brain tissue. "This case highlights the urgent need for early recognition of neurological complications in children with Covid-19," the report authors concluded. "Clinicians should maintain heightened vigilance for atypical presentations, including rapid neurological deterioration post-infection."
