Silani (Auxologico): cured of primary lateral sclerosis after trip to Lourdes
The neurodegenerative disease is and ultra-rare and incurable: the stages of the 'inexplicable and definitive' cure are retraced in the French sanctuary by Antonietta Raco
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Medicine studied the case for over 15 years. Scientists and researchers have questioned, investigated, even divided but finally decided: Antonietta Raco, 67, was completely and inexplicably cured of Primary Lateral Sclerosis during a pilgrimage to Lourdes in 2009. For this, one can speak of a miracle: she is the 72nd 'certified' by the Bureau des Constatations Médicales of Lourdes and the International Medical Committee of Lourdes (CMIL).
The story of Antonietta Raco, from Francavilla In Sinni, in the province of Potenza, married to Antonio Lofiego, was retraced at a press conference in Lourdes by Mgr. Jean-Marc Micas, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes, Father Michel Daubanes, Rector of the Sanctuary, Olivier Jonquet, President of the CMIL, Alessandro de Franciscis, permanent doctor and President of the Lourdes Medical Referral Office, as well as Vincenzo Silani, Professor of Neurology, specialist in Primary Lateral Sclerosis and Director of the Neuroscience Department of the Auxologico Irccs in Milan.
In 2006, the definitive diagnosis of Primary Lateral Sclerosis
.'I first examined Mrs Raco in 2013,' Silani explains, 'and the clinical picture was compatible with a person in good health. Yet, starting in 2004, the disease had begun to manifest itself with strong attacks of headache, cramps, chronic fatigue and motor difficulties. In the following years the situation had worsened: dysphagia and dysarthria appeared in 2005 and in 2006 the definitive diagnosis of Primary Lateral Sclerosis, a neurodegenerative disease. "Ultra-rare and incurable," Silani points out, which forces patients into a wheelchair.
In 2009, the pilgrimage on the Unitalsi white train
.Then, the trip to Lourdes and the hope of a recovery for a 9-year-old girl suffering from ALS, whose T-shirt she had brought with her. It was between 30 July and 5 August 2009, during a pilgrimage organised by Unitalsi (Basilicata Section), with the well-known 'white trains', that Antonietta had an extraordinary experience that she still describes with emotion: after plunging into the pools, she reported a profound sense of well-being and the ability to walk again. 'The voice of a kind woman,' Raco recounts, 'told me three times not to be afraid. She only speaks about it on her return, when subsequent medical examinations, first at the Sla centre of the 'Molinette' hospital in Turin, confirm the total disappearance of her symptoms.
First case of remission of neurodegenerative disease
.The Auxologico, for its part, subjected the patient to scripulous examinations and evaluations. "Our contribution," explains Silani, "was to confirm the diagnosis. Then, the neurological remission was validated on three occasions, with lengthy evaluation in the institute'. Silani is confident: "Mrs Raco's recovery is definitive and does not require any further investigation after being recognised and after such a complex work.
