Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Medical mystery: The boy who won't eat or drink...

Most children would jump at the chance to pig out on hamburgers, ice cream, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, tacos and candy. But not Landon Jones. For about a year, the 12-year-old Iowa boy has had a mysterious illness. He never feels hunger or thirst and therefore refuses to eat and drink. The disorder is so rare that doctors think he may be the only person in the world with the condition, according to the Des Moines Register, which first reported his story.

The strange symptoms developed without warning a year ago. Landon awoke the morning of Oct. 14, 2013 complaining of dizziness and extreme chest congestion. A scan of his chest indicated he had a bacterial infection in his left lung, which was treated successfully.

But then he stopped eating.

Over the past year, Landon and his family have visited doctors in five cities, from their local pediatrician in Waterloo, Iowa, to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He's been subjected to countless tests, including a spinal tap, encephalograms (brain scans) and psychiatric evaluation, and has been evaluated for a host of medical conditions, including digestive problems and possible eating disorders.

One by one, other illnesses have been ruled out, but Landon still has not received a diagnosis. The physicians he's visited have been baffled by his condition and at a loss for how best to treat him. More + video...

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  3. Thai Ngoc, the Vietnamese man who has not slept for 33 years!!
  4. Sleepless boy Rhett Lamb sleeps again...
  5. Gitmo detainees ask US court to end force feeding...

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