Ashton Kutcher revealed that he struggled with a rare disease and is “lucky to be alive.”
In an exclusive clip from an episode of National Geographic’s “Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge,” the actor said he was diagnosed with vasculitis, a condition that involves inflammation of the blood vessels.
“Like two years ago, I had this weird, super-rare form of vasculitis,” Kutcher said in the video, published by “Access Hollywood,” “that like knocked out my vision, knocked out my hearing, knocked out like all my equilibrium.”
“Talk about strength through adversity,” Grylls told the “That ’70s Show” actor during the interview.
“Lucky to be alive,” Kutcher responds.
“The minute you start seeing your obstacles as things that are made for you, to give you what you need, then life starts to get fun, right? You start surfing on top of your problems instead of living underneath them.”
Is Ashton Kutcher OK now?
Kutcher took to Twitter on Monday to address the video “before there are a bunch of rumors/chatter/whatever out there.”
He said that while he had the autoimmune flare-up three years ago, he is now “fully recovered” and “moving on.”
The 44-year-old actor added that he will be attending this year’s TCS New York City Marathon in November with Thorn, his anti-child-trafficking nonprofit.
What is vasculitis?
This autoimmune disorder is a rare condition that can result in the body being attacked by its own immune system. It involves swelling in the blood vessels that can lead to organ damage and aneurysms, among other series conditions, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
The general symptoms, depending on the severity of the disease and area of affliction, include:
- Fever.
- Weight loss.
- Tiredness.
- Pain.
- Rash.
Although most of these symptoms disappear within days, some challenges may persist.
“Any nerve damage often takes months to recover from, because the nerves have to regrow, and that happens slowly,” Dr. Peter Merkel, the chief of rheumatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, told NBC News. “Unfortunately, some damage may never recover.”
Merkel said Kutcher’s problems with walking may point to neurological damage, with room for joint damage as well.
There are 15 to 20 types of vasculitis. It’s unconfirmed which type Kutcher suffered from.
What is the treatment for vasculitis?
The treatment for this autoimmune disease relies on “controlling the inflammation and managing any underlying conditions that may be triggering the vasculitis,” per the Mayo Clinic.
If the condition responds to treatment, it can go into remission, which is a period of time when the vasculitis isn’t active, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.