Jenna Jameson has been diagnosed with Guillain-Barré Syndrome, an uncommon neurological disorder that can attack a person’s muscle movement, People reports.
Jenna Jameson offered an update on a medical condition that has her hospitalized in Hawaii.
In multiple Instagram videos, she and her partner, Lior Bitton, detailed their ordeal, saying that they realized something was wrong because Jameson was constantly vomiting for weeks. An initial CT scan didn’t show any irregularities.
Bitton explained that things started to get worse, and Jameson “couldn’t carry herself.”
He continued, “Her muscles in her legs were very weak. So she wasn’t able to walk to the bathroom. She was falling on the way back or to the bathroom, I would have to pick her up and carry her to bed. And then within two days it got really not so good, her legs started to not hold her, she wasn’t able to walk.”
They returned to the hospital where doctors performed a spinal tap and did an MRI, which led to her diagnosis. According to the National Institute of Health, the side effects of Guillain-Barré Syndrome are muscle weakness and paralysis. “The body’s immune system mistakenly attacks part of its peripheral nervous system,” the NIH writes. “Most cases usually start a few days or weeks following a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection.”
Patients can usually recover from the disorder, with the help of immunoglobulin therapy. Bitton and Jameson both said she was getting that treatment. Bitton also said she’s getting physical therapy so she can regain use of her legs.
Even in the best of settings, 3%–5% of Guillain-Barré syndrome patients die from complications, which can include paralysis of the muscles that control breathing, blood infection, lung clots, or cardiac arrest.
The most commonly used treatment for Guillain-Barré syndrome is intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). When you have Guillain-Barré syndrome, the immune system (the body’s natural defences) produces harmful antibodies that attack the nerves. IVIG is a treatment made from donated blood that contains healthy antibodies.