8/19/12 admitted VAMC Salem,VA-Fever >104, no motor control unable to swallow.
Treated 11 days for Cerebellar Ataxia, Dyskinesia, Dysphagia, Pneumonia,Fever>104 and several other Brain injuries.
Diagnosis: Toxic reaction to Peginterferon Alpha 2A and Incevik (telaprevir) while undergoing triple drug therapy for hepatitis C, ribavirin was 3rd drug.
Discharged 8/30/12
Currently rehabilitating at Raleigh Court Health and Rehab, Roanpke, VA.
2 hours/day physical therapy and 1 hour speech therapy a day.
Still can't walk but prognosis is good.
I was wondering if you had a transplant? Or waiting one? It would help if you could give us more information.
Jules
I'm not aware of any links between triple tx and cerebellar ataxia, however, I have a dear friend who developed severe cerebellar ataxia which turned out to be paraneoplastic, caused by an autoimmune reaction to a previously undiagnosed ovarian cancer, so I took your question seriously and did some googling. I also have experienced some autoimmune problems due to the HCV (these issues manifested before my HCV diagnosis) and I had been warned that these autoimmune problems might be exacerbated by treatment with interferon. These two things are pretty much what I found in researching your question. I did find some links to cases of cerebellar ataxia due to autoimmune reaction to the HCV itself, and I found some musings that interferon therapy might exacerbate this if it is present. I found nothing relating it to the triple therapy, but if it were to be related it would most likely be to the interferon component. May I ask what prompts your question?
I am truly sorry this happened to you. Here is an article that explains the condition:
http://tinyurl.com/9dudh2h
Here is the National Ataxia Foundation
http://www.ataxia.org/learn/ataxia-diagnosis.aspx#what-is-ataxia
I hope you can find a forum or blog similar to this one so you can meet others who have worked their way through this condition. When you feel up to it and are able I encourage your doctors to document their findings and report them to the FDA. Maybe there is a way this can be prevented to happen to someone else.
I wish you the best of luck with your healing.
In the future (maybe a couple of years from now) the "All oral" Hepatitis C meds might be available. They are considered less harsh and shorter in treatment duration. Perhaps there is still a chance you can treat your HCV