A woman in Southern California’s Inland Empire, age 53, is suffering from an unidentified neurological disorder. It started as an odd numbness in her left arm, and now she feels an uncomfortable, persistent tingling and prickling pain from the bottom of her feet to the top of her eyebrows. She feels these symptoms to varying degrees at all times of the day and night.

The woman brought her symptoms to the attention of her doctor who, baffled, sent her to a specialist. The specialist ran a number of tests and ruled out all the most likely possibilities, but like the woman’s general practitioner, the specialist was left puzzled. The specialist presented the woman’s case to a panel of leading neurologists from the state’s top hospitals, but no one could make a diagnosis or offer an effective plan of treatment.

This woman’s case is not a hypothetical situation, and unfortunately, it is not a unique situation.

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