Hi All,
My son is a 34 yr old British male. Since the end of 2008, he's been having more and more cognitive problems, which has seen his health deteriorate a little more each month, which as any parent will concur with, is very upsetting to witness - especially when no one seems to have any answers.
In March, he was forced to give up his job, as he was complaining increasingly of his mental functioning becoming very flaky - not being able to think straight, or brain fog as I think it's called, short term memory problems, repeating himself verbally, feeling disorientated, etc.
He saw a neurologist in April, who our doctor informs us is very good, although he appeared to be quite dismissive of his symptoms, as he couldn't see anything obvious upon examining him. He did however arrange an MRI scan of the brain though, which didn't show up any abnormalities. Our doctor has also performed extensive blood tests, all of which have been normal.
His girlfriend, who unfortunately he only started dating just prior to his health problems commencing left him a month or so ago, stating she was no longer going out with the person she'd met a few months back. Quite upsetting for him, but I can understand her reasoning, given his obvious decline in health.
By this time, he was just shuffling around in a daze like state most of the time, not really being able to have a proper conversations. He complains of either forgetting what the person in question has said to him, before being able to reply, or just being totally blank in mind, and unable to formulate a reply. Another prominent symptom is constant muscle twitching, all over his body - arms, hands, legs, shoulders, feet, etc.
We've now moved him back in with myself and his father, to ensure he's eating properly and having some sort of mental and physical stimulation, as he was living on his own. Everyone who knows him, along with his family are very worried about what's going on, seeing our son go from a happy, outgoing individual who was doing ok in life, to a complete wreck, who's memory is failing him, and gets confused just making a cup of tea, or getting dressed in the morning, and spends most of the day, just sat on the sofa crying intermittently through the day.
Having started to research the internet for possible causes, through lack of anything else concrete having been put forward as a possible diagnosis, aside from the neurologist we saw who suggested it was “just all psychological”, I've now come across worrying information, which points towards variant CJD, the profile of which he seems to fit exactly, and of course a terrible disease which has caused the death of quite a few young people over the past few years in the U.K.
I was reluctant to mention this to his doctor, obviously not wanting to appear overly irrational, but upon doing so, he just laughed at me, and said that couldn't possible be the cause. I asked him if something like this would of shown up on my sons MRI scan though, and he informed me that it wouldn't of done, as an MRI only shows up anything structural that's untoward. This did nothing to help reassure us.
I suppose what I'm seeking, is clarification as to whether variant CJD would visible on an MRI scan of the brain, as - contrary to what his G.P said - I've read somewhere that it does, so now don't know what to believe. Of course, if anyone has any other ideas of what could be causing my symptoms, I'd more than appreciate their input.
Currently, medication wise, my son has been put on 60mg a day of Duloxetine for depression, and 2 x 10mg of Tamazepam every third night to help him sleep, otherwise he's only able to sleep around 3-4 hours a night.
Thanks in advanced.
A worried parent.