What is vasculitis, the autoimmune disease that left Ashton Kutcher unable to see, hear or walk?

Actor Ashton Kutcher has revealed that a battle with vasculitis affected his ability to see, hear or walk for a year.

Access Hollywood, in a sneak peek at an upcoming episode of National Geographic’s “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge” airing Monday shows the Hollywood actor discussing the disease and its debilitating effects.

“Like two years ago, I had this weird, super rare form of vasculitis, that like knocked out my vision, it knocked out my hearing, it knocked out like all my equilibrium,” he said.

“You don’t really appreciate it, until it’s gone,” Kutcher added.

“Until you go, ‘I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to see again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to hear again, I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to walk again’.”

“Lucky to be alive,” Kutcher concluded.

The actor later took to Twitter to issue a clarification about his health:

Before there are a bunch of rumors/ chatter/ whatever out there. Yes, I had a rare vasculitis episode 3yrs ago. (Autoimmune flair up) I had some impairments hear, vision, balance issues right after. I fully recovered. All good. Moving on. See you at the 2022 NY Marathon w/Thorn

— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) August 9, 2022

But what is vasculitis? How does it affect human beings? What are the symptoms, risk factors to look out for and how is it treated?

Let’s take a closer look:

What is it?

Vasculitis is a rare autoimmune disorder with many variations which can cause inflammation of the blood vessels, restricting blood flow and leading to organ and tissue damage in some.

As per the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, vasculitis, also known as angiitis or arteritis, includes a group of rare conditions that can take place when swelling affects the walls of your blood vessels.

Swelling is your body’s response to tissue injury. Autoimmune disorders or diseases that make your body attack itself, infections, and trauma are some examples of potential causes of swelling in the blood vessels. Swelling in the blood vessels can lead to serious problems, including organ damage and aneurysms, a bulge in the wall of a blood vessel, as per website.

Dr John Oghalai, chair of the Department of Otolaryngology at USC Keck School of Medicine speaking to Rolling Stone, said in simple terms that vasculitis is an inflammatory condition where the immune system fights blood vessels in the body.

“It means your blood vessels are being attacked,” Oghalai says.

“And it happens for no clear reason.”

Risk factors, symptoms

As per the NIH, age, ethnicity, family history and lifestyle factors such as smoking and illegal drug use can contribute to the risk for vasculitis.

Certain medications for high blood pressure, thyroid disease and infections can contribute as well, as per the website.

There are several different types of vasculitis, and it can affect any of the blood vessels in the body. A sufferer may experience general symptoms, such as fever, weight loss, tiredness, pain, and rash.

A patient may also have other symptoms depending on the part of the body that is affected and if the vasculitis is serious.

As per the website, vasculitis can occur alone or in conjunction with other rheumatic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or scleroderma.

Having a hepatitis B or C infection can also be a trigger, as can blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.

Diagnosis and treatment

“The common ways that you would diagnose a patient with vasculitis is black spots at the tips of their fingers or toes, because those are the furthest away from your heart,” Oghalai explained.

“As the vessels become inflamed, the blood can’t flow through it so you can get cell death at very distal extremities.”

Oghalai said patients with vasculitis are typically first given a steroid, like prednisone, which block the immune system. If the steroid doesn’t seem to solve the issue or if the vasculitis returns, patients can be given methotrexate, “an immunosuppressant medication used for vasculitis and other types of autoimmune diseases,” Oghalai said.

Oghalai added, “Vasculitis itself is pretty common. It’s a short-term thing for most people and it results spontaneously.”

“What he’s had sounds extremely severe.”

Kutcher isn’t the only Hollywood star who’s had to battle vasculitis.

In 2014, actor-director Harold Ramis – the director of classic comedies such as  Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation and Groundhog Day and who co-starred in Ghostbusters and Stripes – died as a result of  complications from the disease after a four year battle with the disease, as per CNN.

With inputs from agencies

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