(CNN) — Ashton Kutcher announced Monday that he has a severe autoimmune condition that has affected his hearing, vision and ability to walk for more than a year.
“About two years ago I had this weird, super weird form of vasculitis,” Kutcher said in an exclusive video released on Access Hollywood of an upcoming episode of National Geographic’s Running Wild with Bear Grylls: The Challenge.
“It left me without sight, without hearing, it left me without balance. It took me about a year to get it back,” Kutcher told adventurer and host Bear Grylls as they walked through brambles and trees.
“You don’t really appreciate it until it’s gone, until you say, ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to see again.’ I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to hear again, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to walk again,” said Kutcher. “I’m lucky to be alive.”
CNN has reached out to Kutcher’s rep, but has yet to receive a response.
Complications from vasculitis killed actor and director Harold Ramis in 2014, Ramis’ agents said.
Ramis, who directed Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation and Groundhog Day and starred in Ghostbusters and Stripes, has died at the age of 69, four years after contracting the disease.
Symptoms of vasculitis
Vasculitis occurs when the body’s immune system attacks the veins, arteries, and small capillaries. The resulting inflammation narrows these blood vessels, restricting or even stopping blood flow, which can lead to organ damage or aneurysms (a bulge in the wall of a blood vessel), according to the National Institutes of Health. NIH). If an aneurysm ruptures, internal bleeding can occur, which can lead to death.
Depending on the type and severity of the disease and the organs affected, the symptoms of vasculitis vary and can be mild, moderate, or life-threatening. The most common symptoms are loss of appetite, weight loss, fatigue, rash, pain and fever.
Age, ethnicity, family history, and lifestyle factors such as smoking and illicit drug use can contribute to the risk of vasculitis. Certain medications for high blood pressure, thyroid disease, and infections can also contribute, the NIH notes.
Vasculitis can occur alone or with other rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or scleroderma. Hepatitis B or C infection can also be a trigger, as can blood cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Treatment aims to reduce inflammation. In mild cases, over-the-counter pain relievers may help. In the most severe cases, doctors may prescribe steroids, monoclonal antibodies, and immunomodulators or immunosuppressive drugs, to name a few.