Cases in the News

• 15 June 2008 New York Times Magazine "Diagnosis" article "Strange Spells".  The case:  A 15 year old boys with repeated episodes that appeared to be strokes or seizures.  Click here for details.
• 17 June 2007 New York Times Magazine article "Full-Body Failure".  The case:  A 22 year old woman presents with hepatomegaly, anemia and jaundice.  Click here for details.
• 19 May 2006 CNN video.  The case:  A newborn has long fingers and develops very tall stature.  Click here for details.
• 8 October 2005 Wall Street Journal article "The Doctor, The Father, The Movie and the Medicine".  The case:  A 5 year old boy develops slurred speech, clumsy gait and hearing impairment.  The software converges on the diagnosis very quickly.  Click here for details.
• 12 July 2005 Wall Street Journal article "Newborn Medical Screening Expands".  The case:  In an article on newborn screening, a boy with isovaleric acidemia is described briefly.  The software does respectably with the limited information and does better when more details from a family description are added.  Click here for details.
• 2 June 2005 Daily Telegraph (London) article "Genetic discovery offers new hope after family tragedy".  The case:  In an article about finding the genetic basis for Vanishing White Matter disease, a case description is given.  The software highlights the diagnosis even before any lab results are added.  Click here for details.
• 29 May 2005 New York Times Magazine article "Diagnosis: Facial tic, weight loss, delusion".  The case:  In the magazine's "Diagnosis" feature, a man with a facial tic, weight loss and paranoid delusions is described.  The software zeroes in on the diagnosis even without family history or lab tests.  Click here for details.
• 22 March 2005 New York Times article "Researchers Toil With Genes on the Fringe of a Cure".  The case:  An 18 month old girl regresses and develops seizures.  Click here for details.
• 30 January 2005 New York Times article "Racing with S".  The case:  In an article about a family organizing the medical community to find the gene for progeria, a boy with progeria is described.  The software zeroes in on the diagnosis without any lab tests.  Click here for details.  
• 19 December 2004 New York Times article "After Baby's Grim Diagnosis, Parents Try Drastic Treatment".  The case:  In an article about an experimental cord blood transplant, a baby girl with organomegaly is described.  The software zeroes in on the diagnosis without any lab tests.  Click here for details.
• 29 February 2004 New York Times Magazine article "Diagnosis: Chest Pain, Frequent Cramping, Weakness".  The case:  In the magazine's "Diagnosis" feature, a man with difficulty breathing, cramps and weakness is described.  The software zeroes in on the diagnosis even without family history or lab tests, even though the diagnosis is not technically a neurological syndrome.  Click here for details.
• 19 May 2002 Inland Southern California Press Enterprise article "Looking up: After a coma and confused diagnosis, the future is getting brighter for a Norco child and family that won't give up".  The case:  A 14 month old was found in a coma with a subdural hematoma.  He was presumed to be a victim of child abuse until the diagnosis was found.  Click here for details.

If you know of interesting cases in the news, in journals or on open Web sites of hospitals or foundations, please contact us and include enough information for us to find the material.  The differential diagnosis will change over time as people mull over the case and submit new information to the database about findings in the relevant diseases.  For cases on the Web in which names are used, names are replaced by initials to conform with standard medical format for case presentations.