7. Sensory Alterations: A Distorted Reality
As PML progresses, patients may start to experience significant changes in their sensory perceptions. This symptom encompasses a broad spectrum, from altered tactile sensations (like numbness or hypersensitivity) to changes in taste, smell, or even auditory perceptions.
At its core, these sensory alterations arise from the disease’s impact on the sensory processing centers of the brain. As these centers get affected, the brain’s interpretation of sensory inputs becomes skewed, leading to these abnormal perceptions.
It’s not just about distorted sensations. In some cases, patients may experience a complete loss of a particular sense, such as an inability to taste or feel temperature changes. Such profound sensory losses can be incredibly distressing, making even familiar environments feel alien and unpredictable.(7)
