Brooke Black had been feeling off. What started with flu-like symptoms, headaches and fatigue soon spiraled into something far more serious ‒ and far more debilitating.

Rushed to the emergency room when hallucinations and seizures set in, Brooke’s case flummoxed the care team. After nearly a month in her local hospital and still no diagnosis, a call to our experts brought her to the CU Anschutz Medical Campus.

Here, Brooke was diagnosed with a rare disease called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis ‒ a type of neurologic inflammation made famous by the book “Brain on Fire” that’s characterized by delirium, seizures and memory loss. Believed to be triggered by tumors on her ovaries, Brooke’s disease had progressed rapidly as her immune system went awry, waging an attack on her brain.

After weeks without answers, the CU Anschutz care team quickly unraveled the mysteries of Brooke’s illness and began administering treatment. She became the first person in the United States to enroll in a first-of-its-kind clinical trial for a new immunotherapy drug on our campus (currently in year two), and is now on the path to recovery.

Learn more about Brooke’s experience ‒ and find out how our physician-scientists are speeding new solutions to the fore ‒ using the link below.

Speeding New Solutions

We featured Brooke’s story earlier this month at Transforming Healthcare: The Future of Immunotherapy, where CU Anschutz faculty showcased groundbreaking advancements in therapeutic development and clinical trials.

By harnessing our own immune systems to treat disease, these novel treatments have proven effective in fighting many cancers. They also hold tremendous promise for a host of autoimmune diseases. By eliminating rogue cells, immunotherapy can be an effective treatment for diseases ranging from rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes to stiff person syndrome and other autoimmune neurologic disorders.

At CU Anschutz, advances in immunotherapy are bringing new hope to those seeking options. We are proud of the work underway and eager for further advances just on the horizon.

Sincerely,

Don Elliman