Medical Mysteries

Latest Episodes:

Laughing Death Pt. 1 Jan 28, 2020

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In the mid-1900s, members of the remote Fore tribe in Papua New Guinea faced extinction at the hands of the strange neurological condition that caused spontaneous barks of laughter.

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Reye Syndrome Jan 21, 2020

Show notes

Beginning in 1951, Doctor Ralph Reye took note of an alarming, fatal condition that killed thousands of child patients. Mild colds and flus would become life-threatening neurological conditions that left patients dead or with severe brain damage. And the culprit was an ordinary product present in nearly every household in the developed world.

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The Fasting Girl Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

In the late 1800s, Mollie Fancher was entangled with a city trolley car that dragged her violently through the streets of Brooklyn. This caused a series of inexplicable ailments that left her bedridden for the remainder of her life. But Mollie’s strangest symptom was her ability to go 14 years without eating a thing…

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The Death of President Harding Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

At the time, doctors believed the 57-year-old’s symptoms could have been caused by a stroke, but there have been many other medical theories since then. Some people even believe that President Warren G. Harding was poisoned.

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Best of 2019: Fatal Familial Insomnia Pt. 2 Dec 31, 2019

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Here’s one of our listeners’ most requested episodes of 2019: Once modern medicine recognized Fatal Familial Insomnia as a disease, it faced a greater challenge: finding a cure.

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Best of 2019: Fatal Familial Insomnia Pt. 1 Dec 24, 2019

Show notes

Here’s one of our listeners’ most requested episodes of 2019: Don’t let the complicated name fool you—this mystery is no laughing matter: Inability to sleep. Loss of coordination. Slow, painful loss of mental faculties.

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Flesh-Eating Bacteria Dec 17, 2019

Show notes

It’s a terrifying infection that liquefies skin and muscle. Though rare, doctors are still ill-equipped to fight flesh-eating bacteria, and it still continues to take lives to this day.

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Allergic to Water Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Alexandra Allen’s nightmare first began in 2009 when she was 12 years old. After swimming in a hotel pool, she nearly went into anaphylactic shock. After a battery of tests, doctors were shocked by what caused her reaction. She was allergic to water.

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Adrenoleukodystrophy Pt. 2 Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

After Lorenzo Odone was diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy in 1984, his parents developed a treatment that saved his life. But in 1993, they faced accusations of fraud when a Hollywood movie based on Lorezno's story gave false impressions to a number of other desperate patients.

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Adrenoleukodystrophy Pt. 1 Nov 26, 2019

Show notes

In a matter of months, eight-year-old Lorenzo Odone lost his hearing and sight, as well as his ability to move, swallow, and speak. Doctors told him he had five years to live at most. But his parents refused to accept this and went on a frantic search for a cure.

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