Board Thread:Naruto Discussions/@comment-25219329-20150128075931/@comment-5233512-20150329015638

I wonder if he could have been cured of his illness if there was an expert healer within the Akatsuki.

In the end, Itachi's demise was due to him not getting his hands on Hashirama cells to literally rid of all the problems he potentially had from that sickness to a lack of chakra reserves and even to his diminishing eyesight.