The Guardian: Canada prevents scientists from completing research related to a mysterious brain disease

A prominent neuroscientist at the Canadian federal agency responsible for funding medical research revealed a mysterious brain disease that is believed to have affected about 350 people, stressing that the government has stopped conducting research into it.

A publication by the Guardian newspaper said: “A senior Canadian federal scientist says the government has halted research into a mysterious brain disease in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, which is believed to have infected 350 people.”

The newspaper indicates that the man in question is Professor Samuel Weiss, a neuroscientist who works for the Canadian federal agency responsible for funding medical research.

In early June, the newspaper also reported that one of Canada's top scientists, Michael Coulthart, said that he had been prevented from conducting research on a mysterious brain disease in New Brunswick that was believed to have infected more than 200 people, and that the disease was linked to environmental conditions that... It leads to a disease similar to Alzheimer 's or Parkinson's.

Coulthart believes that this phenomenon is not easy to fit into "superficial models" for diagnosing diseases, and that the complexities of the problem have given politicians a "loophole" to close the opportunity for scientists to investigate the disease.

In 2021, more than 40 people in New Brunswick were diagnosed with a type of neurological disease associated with a variety of symptoms, from increased salivation to others feeling like insects crawling on their skin, and it was believed at the time that it was not related to a new disease. Rather, an incorrect diagnosis was made, and it was decided to stop all research.