After she returned to the Senate recently, Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office confirmed that the California senator was hospitalized for severe neurological complications of shingles that affected her brain and face.
“While the encephalitis resolved itself shortly after she was released from the hospital in March, she continues to have complications from Ramsay Hunt syndrome,” a spokesperson for Feinstein, 89, confirmed on Thursday in a statement.
Feinstein, California’s senior Democratic senator, previously said that she did not have encephalitis, noting, “It really has never been diagnosed properly.”
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“It is important not to speculate on anyone’s medical diagnosis without an in-person medical evaluation,” Dr. Michael S. Okun, executive director of the Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases at University of Florida Health in Gainesville, Florida, told Fox News Digital late this week.
“I’m still experiencing some side effects from the shingles virus,” Feinstein said.
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It sometimes can occur in younger people — as pop singer Justin Bieber was diagnosed with the condition last year.
The virus that causes chicken pox, known as varicella zoster virus (VZV), stays “dormant” in the body after someone gets chickenpox; but later in life, it can reactivate in a nerve that controls the facial muscles, known as the facial nerve.
These “temporary” side effects are affecting her vision and ability to balance.
In meningitis, these outer protective layers surrounding the brain become inflamed — but encephalitis is when the brain gets inflamed, per Johns Hopkins Medicine’s website.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein is shown making her way to the Senate chambers at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Although encephalitis due to shingles can occur in people without significant medical problems, it is more common in people with immunocompromised conditions, according to medical research. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Patients with meningitis often present themselves to health care professionals within hours with the classic triad of symptoms of fever, headache and neck stiffness.
Encephalitis has a more subacute presentation that includes changes in mental status.
“If caught early, these disorders may possibly be treatable by antiviral drug therapy,” he added.
“It is important to recognize that identifying which virus is involved, VZV or herpes, can make a huge difference in treatment and in outcome.”
He pointed out that people cannot get shingles if they’ve never had chickenpox.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. (at right) greets Sen. Dianne Feinstein as she returns to the U.S. Capitol on May 10, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Feinstein returned to Washington after over two months away following a hospitalization due to shingles. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“These viruses are usually present and in ‘hiding’ in our bodies, and can be commonly reactivated later in life, especially when there is a weakened immune system,” Okun added.
When the virus moves centrally toward the brain, it can cause encephalitis.
Encephalitis due an infectious cause starts with non-specific symptoms that can be difficult to distinguish from the flu, including a headache.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in wheelchair, as she arrives at the U.S. Capitol following a long absence due to health issues on May 10, 2023, in Washington, D.C. Feinstein was fighting a case of shingles and has been absent from the Senate for almost three months. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
In the case of an infectious cause, a patient’s specific symptoms will vary according to the part of the brain that’s infected or the particular antibody causing the inflammation — when it’s an autoimmune etiology.
Encephalitis secondary to shingles often presents with a patient’s mental status changing within days after developing a group of painful blisters along one or more nerve distributions, according to previous research.
How can shingles be prevented?
“Fortunately, there are excellent vaccines that are available to prevent chickenpox,” Glatt tox Fox News Digital.