New England Journal of Medicine Highlights Discovery by Professor Anat Achiron

A unique medical anomaly that was discovered by Professor Anat Achiron, Director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at the Sheba Medical Center, during the course of examining a potential multiple sclerosis (MS) patient, was featured in a recent edition of the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
“We have been evaluating patients who might show symptoms of early stage MS, because diagnosing this disease as early as possible is important for treatment,” said Professor Achiron. “When a 59 year old man came to us complaining of repeated headaches and an MRI scan revealed a lesion in his brain, we thought that MS was a possibility but there was something very unusual about this case.”
Professor Achiron revealed, ”Most people with early stage MS are around 25 years old. This older patient also exhibited bluish nodules on his skin, which raised our suspicion that he was suffering from something other than MS. We also found out that other family members had displayed similar symptoms. After performing more tests on the 59 year old patient, we discovered that he was suffering from a rare condition known as Cerebral Cavernous Malformation, a neurological anomaly that is a genetic disease for which there is no cure.”
She reported that the patient is currently being treated with beta-blockers, which provides temporary relief for the headaches, but the disease has also mildly affected his cognitive skills and memory.

Prof.Anat Achiron