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Wilfrid Casseron (Neurologist)
In an interview for Konbini, the current Miss France, Eve Gilles, admits to being affected by a rare disease. At only 21 years old, she explains that she suffers from paroxysmal dyskinesia. What does this consist of? To understand this, we interviewed Dr Wilfrid Casseron, neurologist in Aix-en-Provence.
It’s been 10 months now since Eve Gilles was crowned Miss France. If we thought we knew everything about the 21-year-old young woman, that’s not the case. Indeed, in an interview for Konbini, the young woman reveals that she is affected by a rare disease.
Eve Gilles is affected by paroxysmal dyskinesia
The current Miss France admits that she did not wish to communicate about her state of health before. “It was a disease that took up a lot of space for me when I was little. So, I didn’t want it to define me. People have often wanted to label me with this illness, but I didn’t want to be elected because ‘oh the poor little girl with this illness’. I didn’t see my illness as a defect. (…) It’s more for me a force that made me grow, perhaps too quickly“.
A disease she can’t control
Eve Gilles also revealed certain aspects of her illness, which she cannot always control. “When I was eight years old, I felt like I didn’t control my body over certain movements. I talked to my parents about it, telling them ”I have ticsI don’t do it on purpose.
These involuntary movements last “between 25 and 40 seconds” according to Eve Gilles, with a “intensity of the crisis more or less strong“.
“It can be an arm, (…) it can be my whole body, it can even be at the level of the face. That’s why I often close my eyes. I feel my eyes go, I don’t want to be seen like this. (…) I have always been afraid of harassment because I felt different and abnormal” she admits again.
What is paroxysmal dyskinesia?
Questioned, Dr. Wilfrid Casseron, neurologist, explains that the term simply means that the young woman suffers from uncontrolled movements. “In medical jargon, dyskinesia means abnormal movements and paroxysmal is a synonym for acute” he defines first.
“In neurology, this can cover different rare pathologies, such as paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia, the origin of which is genetic.” According to the doctor, these involuntary movements can be caused by exercise. “There is also a role for emotion and a component to take into account in this sense. adds Dr Casseron. “But it’s very rare, personally I’ve never seen one in 20 years of consultation.”
A disease that eventually disappears over time
On the Orphanet site, the portal dedicated to rare diseases, drug treatment to control seizures is based on “anticonvulsant agents such as carbamazepine and phenytoin. In cases of drug-refractory PD, deep brain stimulation is a potential treatment option.”
Regarding the importance of crises, their frequency “usually decreases with age in familial cases and the disease often disappears completely“.
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