April Burrell, a bright 21-year-old student at the University of Maryland, experienced a dramatic change in her life when she developed psychosis after a traumatic event. She entered a constant state of visual and auditory hallucinations, losing the ability to communicate, care for herself, and perform daily activities.
Initially, she was diagnosed with a severe form of schizophrenia. However, scientists believe that the underlying cause of her condition was another illness, even though she exhibited all the clinical signs of schizophrenia.
The unique case of April, who was in a catatonic state for more than 20 years, has awakened thanks to a more accurate diagnosis and innovative treatment, representing a significant breakthrough in the field of psychiatry, the Washington Post reports.
In 2018, a team of scientists led by Sander Markx, director of psychiatric precision at Columbia University, discovered that April had lupus, an autoimmune disease. This meant that her own immune system was incorrectly attacking her healthy tissue, especially in the brain, affecting the areas responsible for psychosis or schizophrenia.
The outcome of this story was a happy one: after several months of specific treatments, April was able to regain control of her mind. Her case is now considered very promising for the treatment of people with psychiatric syndromes who also have underlying autoimmune and inflammatory processes.
This case has begun to reshape the way other mental illnesses are diagnosed and treated, and its impact is significant. Markx comments that they are improving the lives of these people and getting them out of a place he didn’t think they could come back from.
Markx remembers April as the first person he saw as a patient when he was still a medical student in 2000. He claims she is the sickest patient he has seen to this day. Nearly two decades later, their paths crossed again when Markx and his colleagues provided her with the specific treatments that contributed to her recovery.