Neuro Note #3 ABI

For this neuro note, I watched a movie called "Brain on Fire" that was based on a true story about a young woman who experienced a rare autoimmune disease and had encephalitis. When Susannah was 21 she was working at the New York Post and she started experiencing weird symptoms. The doctors could not figure out what was going on. She was seeming to have episodes of schizophrenia (catatonic, hallucinations), bipolar disorder, seizures, fatigue, memory loss, coughing, numbness on the left side of her body, headaches and dizziness. After spending lots of time trying to diagnose Susannah, a doctor by the name of Dr. Najjar finally asked her to draw a clock and everything that Susannah wrote down was on the right side. This signaled a red flag that the right side of her brain was affected so the left side of her body was not functioning correctly. Come to find out her brain was inflamed and was causing all these symptoms. I found this story to be intriguing because it shows how much the brain can be affected by a non-TBI. It also showed what type of tests can be done like a MRI, EEG, neurological exam, and a simple cognitive test like drawing a clock to help diagnose someone with a neurological disorder. Also, having to go through all those tests, and spending a month in the hospital can take a toll on someone. This story shows how complex the brain is and how something like an inflammation can cause such odd and crazy symptoms. It also gave a depiction of how ADLs were affected, especially her job, hygiene, bathing and grooming . I also learned that this rare disease is called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and was only discovered 3 years before Susannah became ill. Lastly, since this disease has been discovered and diagnosed, there is a better understanding of the symptoms and how to properly diagnose and treat this specific neurological disease. I think it is great that people are willing to tell their stories and help educate on diseases that are rare. It gives opportunities for cures, support, treatment, and a hope for advancing medicine.

Here is the book that Susannah published about her story that this film was based off of:

Reference: 

Cahalan, S., & Theron, C. (2018, June 22). Brain on Fire. Retrieved August 11, 2019, from https://www.netflix.com/watch/80128245?trackId=13752289&tctx=0,0,03e7cdfd85f8229941edae282b1e623836d7fbbb:c4ec2d0b385d11b968e419843174d79c581560a9