The Rare, Fatal GSS Prion Disease Was Just Featured on Chicago Med—What Is It?
After a devastating family loss, Chicago Med character Caitlin Lenox remains haunted by GSS, a rare, genetic prion disease.
Throughout Season 10 of Chicago Med, Dr. Caitlin Lenox (Sarah Ramos) has emerged as one of Gaffney's finest recruits. As she continues to expertly call the shots in the Emergency Department, viewers have learned that Lenox's passion for treating patients was prompted by a health crisis that devastated her family.
Warning: This article mentions suicide.
Lenox lost her mother after she was diagnosed with an extremely rare prion disease, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS). The day her mother died, Lenox's father died by suicide, leaving Lenox to raise her brother. A tragic backstory has fueled Lenox's love for healthcare, but a grim reality lingers; while rare, GSS is a genetic disorder that could affect Lenox or her brother with age.
RELATED: All About Chicago Med's Dr. Caitlin Lenox
Lenox has kept her her family's medical history under wraps, until Chicago Med's April 3 episode when she opened up to Dr. Dean Archer (Steven Weber). Here's what happened:
Chicago Med tackles prion disease
According to John Hopkins, prion diseases comprise of several conditions, with numerous diagnoses under the same umbrella. Prion diseases are rare, with only about 300 cases reported annually in the U.S. Sadly, there is no cure for prion diseases, but certain medicines can slow down the progression of symptoms.
The diagnosis that wreaks havoc on Lenox's family is Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS), one of the rarest prion diseases. According to the National Organization of Rare Disorders, "Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease is a rare genetic degenerative brain disorder. The symptoms, the progression of the disorder, and the overall severity can vary greatly among affected families and individuals. This is true even among members of the same family."
Common symptoms of GSS include "a progressive loss of coordination that may present as unsteadiness of gait, difficulty walking, and clumsiness. As the disease progresses, other symptoms become apparent, including dementia, in which there are worsening problems with thought, cognition, memory, language, and behavior. In all instances, GSS is caused by an abnormal variant of the prion protein (PRPN) gene" (per the NORD).
Dr. Caitlin Lenox has a 50/50 odds of having a prion disease
Archer and Lenox initially struggled to work together due to their shared tenacity, military background, and no-nonsense stubbornness. Still, they've started to bond more with time. In Med's "The Book of Archer" episode on April 3, Lenox spoke about her family history surrounding prion disease with Archer.
"My mother died of prion disease when she was 45 years old," Lenox said. "From the day she was diagnosed to the day she died was 11 months; it was very fast. My father took his own life three hours later — didn't know how to live without her. It was like this silent nuclear explosion that decimated our family when I was 19, so I adopted my brother Kip."
"Which prion disease?" Archer asked.
"Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker," Lenox said solemnly.
"Jesus," Archer sighed. "Do you have it?"
"I don't know," Lenox admitted. "My brother and I took an oath that we would never get tested. So if my brain has an expiration date, I don't want to know."
"Even with 50/50 odds?" Archer wondered.
"You think I'm foolish," Lenox said.
"No, it takes a lot of courage to live with that uncertainty," Archer told her.
"It just drives me to live a life that does as much good as possible," Lenox shrugged. "Just in case."
"You'll be OK, soldier," Archer said.
Watch Season 10 of Chicago Med on Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC or stream episodes the next day on Peacock.
