Actor Ashton Kutcher has revealed he feels “lucky to be alive” after recovering from a rare autoimmune disease that caused him to go temporarily deaf and blind.
Kutcher opened up about his struggle with vasculitis on an upcoming episode of National Geographic’s Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge.
“Like two years ago, I had this weird, super rare form of vasculitis, that like knocked out my vision, it knocked out my hearing, it knocked out like all my equilibrium,” Mr Kutcher tells host Bear Grylls on the show.
The That 70’s Show star confirmed on Twitter that he was “fully recovered” from the disease but elaborated in Running Wild about the toll being sick he took on him.
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“You don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone,” he said.
“Until you go, ‘I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to see again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to hear again, I don’t know if I’ I’m ever going to be able to walk again’.”
Here’s what you need to know about vasculitis.
What is vasculitis?
Vasculitis is the term used for a group of rare diseases that cause inflammation of blood vessels including arteries and veins.
Symptoms can include:
- fever
- Headache
- fatigue
- weight loss
- General aches and pains
- Skin rash
The severity and symptoms of the disease can vary greatly depending on which type of vasculitis you contract.
For example, you might have heard of Kawasaki disease, an inflammatory disorder that was thought to be linked to COVID-19 infection in the early days of the pandemic.
Kawasaki disease is a type of vasculitis that mostly affects children.
While Mr Kutcher hasn’t specified which form of vasculitis he has contracted, giant cell arteritis most often targets arteries in the head, which can lead to vision loss.
The most severe forms of vasculitis can cause organ damage, blood clots and aneurysms, which can lead to death.
What causes vasculitis?
The exact cause of vasculitis is not fully understood yet.
Some types are related to a person’s genetics while other types result from the immune system attacking blood vessel cells by accident.
According to the Mayo Clinic, infections such as hepatitis B and C, blood cancers, immune system diseases and certain drug reactions can all be triggers for vasculitis.
Risk factors can include age, family history, cocaine use, tobacco use, certain medications and immune disorders.
Can vasculitis be cured?
There is currently no cure for vasculitis.
Modern treatments focus on controlling inflammation and managing the underlying conditions that may be triggering the illness.
A steroid drug, such as prednisone, is the most common type of drug prescribed to control the inflammation associated with vasculitis.
Maintained treatment can lead to long-term remission of many types of vasculitis.
According to Monash Health’s School of Clinical Sciences, without treatment 85 per cent of people with vasculitis will die within five years.
However, if the disease is detected early, there’s a higher chance of the patient recovering or entering remission.
How many people in Australia have vasculitis?
Monash Health says that in Australia, the disease has a similar incidence rate to multiple sclerosis, affecting one in every 50,000 people — most commonly in the 65–74-year-old age bracket.
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