News

A study undertaken by the University of WA and the Lions Eye Institute that focused on Sjogren’s syndrome found chronic viral infections can lead to autoimmune disease.

Sjogren’s is the second most common autoimmune disease, which causes ‘dry eye’ and affects up to 3 per cent of the population, mainly women. The research found that chronic cytomegalovirus infection (CMV) – which is part of the herpes family – could lead to Sjogren’s syndrome.  In healthy people, CMV causes mild flu-like symptoms, but in those with compromised immune systems, it can lead to serious illness.

Karen Cafferky has three children – Rachael (23), Autumn (6) and Ethan (5). Undoubtedly she has a busy household so she and her husband, Joe Hurl, are used to the many ways in which children express themselves.

 

Initially when Ethan started demonstrating strange body movements and eye-rolling, they were told to ignore it in the hope that he would soon stop. That was two years ago. He has since been diagnosed with an extremely rare condition called Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections – or Pandas for short.

 

Melanie W., a New York mom of three boys, vividly remembers the day her middle son refused to go to school. John, age 8, was a social, bright, and athletic kid who had just started third grade. But when he woke up on that November morning, he was not himself. “He looked terrified and didn’t want to leave my lap,” Melanie remembers. “He would literally cling to me if I walked from room to room.”  Out of nowhere, he voiced overwhelming fears: What if she didn’t come to pick him up at school? What if his dad got into a car accident going to work? He also complained of a sore throat.