New Brunswick Public Health is continuing its investigation into a mystery neurological disease, despite an independent scientific review finding no evidence of any such illness.
“We need to work with the patients and the population of New Brunswick to answer the question about what is making New Brunswickers sick, and I think the study didn’t answer that question,” Premier Susan Holt told reporters on Thursday.
Holt was referring to the study published one day earlier by the Journal of the American Medical Association, also known as JAMA.
Six neurologists carried out clinical evaluations at two hospitals in New Brunswick and Ontario, according to the study.
They reviewed 25 of the more than 200 patients who were diagnosed with a mystery neurological illness by a Moncton neurologist.
“Well-known conditions were identified in all 25 cases, including common neurodegenerative diseases, functional neurological disorder, traumatic brain injury, and metastatic cancer,” said the study.
RELATED: No mystery brain disease in N.B., study suggests
The review found that inaccurate clinical assessments and an overreliance on non-standard lab tests may have led to the misdiagnoses.
It also noted that traditional and social media amplified “unfounded concerns” around the mystery disease.
“Second, independent clinical evaluations are needed for any patient given a diagnosis of [neurological syndrome of unknown cause],” said the study.
Holt said it is critical for Public Health to continue its review, with support from the Public Health Agency of Canada, to try and get as many answers as possible.
“There may be multiple things that are at play here in different areas of the province and in different situations, but there’s too many unanswered questions for us to stop the work that Public Health is doing to be able to provide patients and potentially future patients with the information they need about what’s causing these illnesses,” she added.
The findings and any recommendations on next steps are expected to be released later this summer, New Brunswick’s chief medical health officer said in late March.
An initial investigation by Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s then-chief medical officer of health, found no evidence of a common illness among a group of 48 patients.
