Ashton Kutcher has long kept secret that he suffers from a rare autoimmune disease. The 44-year-old US actor has now overcome the disease and is now speaking for the first time about the difficult time with vasculitis.

Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher has revealed on US television that he was diagnosed with a rare disease two years ago. The star of sitcoms like That '70s Show and The Ranch suffered from "a super rare form of vasculitis," as he revealed on survival series Bear Grylls: Stars at the Limit. The autoimmune disease often leads to inflammation of the blood vessels. Kutcher did not reveal anything specific about his diagnosis.

The vasculitis "crippled his vision, hearing and his entire sense of balance," Kutcher said. The healing process took a full year. At times he wasn't sure if he would ever be able to hear, see or walk again. After this horrific experience, actress Mila Kunis' husband was "glad to be alive".

As Ashton Kutcher revealed to adventurer Edward "Bear" Grylls on his show, the illness has also changed his attitude to things in a fundamental way. Meanwhile he would "surf on his problems instead of living among them".