Miller Fisher syndrome is a rare neurological condition that affects the nerves and causes symptoms such as areflexia, ataxia, and ophthalmoplegia. Treatment options include immunoglobulin and plasmapheresis, and most people recover completely within a month. The cause of the syndrome is not fully understood, but it can occur after certain illnesses or vaccinations.
Miller Fisher syndrome is a rare condition that is a close relative of Guillain-Barre syndrome. Both diseases occur suddenly after the disease and both affect the nerves. The main differences are that Miller Fisher syndrome tends to cause the nerves to be less responsive from the head down, and Guillain-Barre often starts with symptoms in the leg and spreads throughout the body. While Miller Fisher symptoms don’t occur often, they are recognizable and there is treatment that can help promote a cure. Sometimes the condition is not fully treatable and some nerve damage may remain after treatment.
There are three main symptoms of Miller Fisher syndrome: areflexia, ataxia, and ophthalmoplegia. Put simply, areflexia means that the body’s normal reflexes don’t work properly or may not respond at all. Ataxia refers to the way people control their muscles, and when this condition occurs, it can change the ability to coordinate muscles resulting in things like shaking, difficulty walking, and shaking. Ophthalmoplegia refers to paralysis of the eye muscles, resulting in double vision and the inability to control eye movement. Nerve function disturbance in the eye is usually the first symptom seen.
In addition to the three main diagnostic elements of this syndrome, people may have other symptoms. Some develop respiratory failure and require respiratory support. Along with ataxia, many people report muscle weakness throughout the body and have great difficulty using any of the muscles easily.
These telltale symptoms of Miller Fisher syndrome, especially when examining the medical history and recent signs of the disease or potential other causes, require one or two main treatments for the condition, which are quite effective. People with this condition are often given immunoglobulin for intravenous administration. This may mean staying in hospital while treatments are being given, which may be needed anyway if you have respiratory failure. Alternatively, patients could have a procedure called plasmapheresis.
In plasmapheresis, blood is removed from the body and stripped of its plasma. It is then reintroduced into the body. The reason this treatment is considered for Miller Fisher syndrome is that the removal of blood plasma can strip the body of some of the antibodies that are creating the nerve damage. This can help promote recovery.
For many, the symptoms of this condition are short-lived, and people recover completely in about a month. Some people will recover sooner, but some may have nerve damage that lasts up to six months or continues when the disease is gone. A high percentage of those who contract this disease recover completely.
As with Guillain-Barre, it’s not completely clear why or when Miller Fisher syndrome occurs. It can occur after certain illnesses and also occasionally after certain vaccinations, such as vaccines against the flu virus. While the syndrome possesses these associations, the risk of contracting the condition from any disease or vaccination is tremendously small.
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