Information for Affected People
Health Complaints and Symptoms

The health complaints and symptoms of affected people are very divers and are often identical to symptoms which are caused by entirely different diseases. Pain in the lower back to the tail bone and gluteal area and extending into the legs and impairments in feeling and temperature sensations, discomfort and tingling in all areas of the lower abdomen, the back, the legs and into the feet.

The health complaints and symptoms are thus not specific to arachnoiditis and Tarlov cyst patients but are as well caused by degenerative spinal diseases. Spinal cord narrowing, herniated discs, slipped vertebrae, tumors and inflammation of the spinal cord, which affect many people, cause the same symptoms and complaints. But it is the pressure and irritation on the nerve structures which cause the pain and not the nerve structures themselves as is the case with Arachnoiditis and their consequences, the Tarlov cysts.

If the same symptoms are caused by different disease factors, it is the obligation of the medical practitioners to define their cause and herein lies the challenge. Arachnoiditis is a rare condition. The other causes, specifically the degenerative diseases of the spinal canal, are highly common. These diseases are considered the common diseases of the civilized world.

One of the key statements in the medical community is: “common diseases are common and rare diseases are rare”. That sounds logical but carries the risk that the diagnosis of rare diseases is hampered by the concentration of the community onto common diseases.

However, arachnoiditis and its consequences is existing even if little considered. The art of medicine is to take them into account.

An additional deterrent is to prove the presence of arachnoiditis, even if it is taken into consideration. The reason is the anatomical peculiarity of the affected structures. They are extremely fine structures and are not easily identified through MRI technology. Only in the advanced stages of the disease of the leptomeninges can it be identified with the additional of a contrast agent.

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Please contact us if you have questions or want to make an appointment.

Since December 1, 2022, the Heinrich-Braun-Klinikum gemeinnützige GmbH is the new owner of the Paracelsus-Klinik Zwickau. On December 9, 2022, Mr. Glaß, as managing director of the Heinrich-Braun-Klinikum Zwickau, location Werdauer Straße (formerly Paracelsus-Klinik), announced during a works assembly that the Saxon Ministry for Social Affairs had decided to withdraw the Werdauer Straße division's concession for the specialist field of neurosurgery by March 1, 2023. In February 2023, however, those involved of the former Paracelsus-Klinik succeeded, making serious compromises, in reaching a solution with the management of the Heinrich-Braun-Klinikum in the interests of the patient's well-being. According to the related resolutions of the special meeting of the supervisory board of the Heinrich-Braun-Klinikum on February 1, 2023, the draft of a coexistence of two neurosurgical clinics at the Zwickau location | Karl-Keil-Straße will initially take place as of March 1, 2023, with the prospect of uniting them by 2025.

On the one hand, this means a continuation of the consultation hours for patients with health insurance and private patients by Prof. Dr. med. habil. Warnke as before. On the other hand, the treatment of Tarlov cysts and leptomeningopathy, which in the meantime no longer seemed possible in Zwickau, is within reach again. According to the current status, it is foreseeable that new surgery appointments can be made in the near future. We will inform you about this as soon as possible!

The work of our foundation remains unaffected by this and will be continued as always!