A teenage girl suddenly began experiencing depression, seizures and involuntary episodes in which she'd hit her head or scratch her arms and then not recall doing so. Doctors discovered that her symptoms actually stemmed from brain inflammation caused by a common autoimmune disease, a new case report reveals.
The 15-year-old girl, from Taiwan, was hospitalized after experiencing a year-long decline in mood, repeated seizures and sudden bursts of these involuntary, self-injuring behaviors, up to three times a day. After many tests, her doctors concluded she had Sjögren's syndrome (SS), an autoimmune disease that most commonly affects the tear and salivary glands but can also impact the central nervous system (CNS), which includes the brain and spinal cord.
