Medical Mystery: 12-Year-Old Boy May Be First in History With This Illness That Has Left Doctors Baffled

Medical professionals have been left baffled by a mystery illness that has stolen away a 12-year-old Iowa boy's urge to eat and drink.

According to the De Mines Register, Landon Jones lacks all impulse to eat and drink because of a his struggle with a medical condition that he may be entirely alone in battling.

"We feel like we're seeing him deteriorate in front of our eyes," his father, Micahel, told the Register.

The 12-year-old was afflicted with the strange condition after waking up sick in the middle of the night about a year ago. His family said he kept coughing up phlegm after a day of riding his bicycle and eating ice cream and pizza.

[sharequote align="center"]"Something happened in the middle of the night."[/sharequote]

"Something happened in the middle of the night," Michael said, "and he woke up this way, and it hasn't stopped."

According to the Register, a chest X-ray found a bacterial infection in his left lung which was quickly eliminated. However, while the bacteria was successfully eradicated, so was Landon's appetite. The young boy quickly lost weight, falling from 104 lbs to 68.4 lbs, the Register reported.

Medical mystery: Iowa boy, 12, has no urge to eat, drink https://t.co/2fCYZ88h4k pic.twitter.com/OtYeGLovX4

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October 27, 2014

Since then, he has visited several doctors and had countless medical tests performed on him — all of which have yielded no cure. His parents now hope the National Institutes of Health reviews his case later this year.

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