В Миссури нашли причину и лечение редкого аутоиммунного заболевания, имевшегося у жителя Джоплина 25 лет

Team finds timely answer for Joplin man’s chronic neurologic autoimmune condition For the first 25 years of Toby Orcutt’s life, his physical fitness was a source of pride. He wrestled and played football in high school in northern Indiana and worked construction jobs in the summer, and then joined the Marine Corps. During his enlistment, he frequently scored near or at the maximum fitness test score of 300. After two deployments, Toby left the Marines in 1995 with a foot drop that affected him while running. That progressed to nerve pain and muscle weakness, and by 2001, he could no longer work construction jobs. Toby’s condition and symptoms continued to progress over the next 30 years, while his doctors unsuccessfully searched for answers. Toby’s muscle strength and control slowly declined: He stopped walking, stopped driving, and lost the ability to raise his arms over his head. “From year to year, it was figuring out how to navigate the newest, latest, greatest muscle that doesn't work,” Toby said. “Just when we get into a certain routine about one thing, something else falls apart.” In 2025, Toby and his wife, Chris, moved near Joplin, Missouri. Born with the gift of gab, Toby was reduced both physically and in his speech as his nerve degeneration started to affect his breathing. With help from the VA and Paralyzed Veterans of America, Toby was referred to MU Health Care’s physical medicine and rehabilitation and neurology specialists. “Toby was referred for the possible diagnosis of ALS, and when we first met with him, his breathing was quite labored,” said Dr. David Arnold, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician and neuromuscular specialist at MU Health Care. “He was only able to speak a few words between bits of his story.” But based on Toby’s story, as well as a decade of muscle conduction study results he brought with him, Dr. Arnold and a team of specialists at MU Health Care tell Toby something incredible. He did not have ALS, and his condition could be treated immediately.