Ashton Kutcher had 'super rare' vasculitis 3 years ago. What is the disease in 5 points

Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher revealed that he was suffering from a “super-rare form” of vasculitis three years ago – an auto-immune disorder that affected his eyesight, hearing, and the ability to walk for more than a year.

“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,” Kutcher tweeted on Tuesday.

The “Two and a half men” star also shared his diagnosis on an episode of the National Geographic show, “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge”.

In a clip that was shared on social media, the 44-year-old said it took him a year to build his life and that he was “lucky to be alive”. Here is brief understanding of the serious disease in five points:

• Vasculitis is essentially the inflammation of blood vessels. It occurs when the body's immune system attacks veins, arteries and capillaries by mistake, the National Health Service (NHS) says. It is not known why this happens but if it does, blood vessels can swell and close off. Sometimes they may bulge – which is known as an aneurysm.


• The symptoms of the disease can vary and can be mild, moderate or even life-threatening. Among the many symptoms are fever, pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue and rashes. Nerve and lung problems, genital ulcers and joint pain may also occur the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of US says.


• There are several types of vasculitis such as Buerger’s disease, IgA vasculitis, Giant cell arteritis, Kawasaki disease among other forms. Some of these affect men more than more, some are age related as well – like the Kawasaki disease affects children of Japanese descent more commonly.


• Age, family history, smoking habits, drug use and medication are among many factors that may cause the disease. Smoking and use of drugs like cocaine will increase the risk of the disease.


• Treatment will help reduce inflammation and over the counter medicines can help largely with the pain. For more serious cases, doctors may prescribe steroids and other stronger medicines. Surgery to treat vasculitis is rare, the NHLBI said.