Strange, this child does not feel thirsty and hungry

Landon Jones, a boy aged 12 years, is experiencing a very strange condition. He lost his hunger or thirst so never eat and drink.

Initially, the boy from Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA, is felt that something was wrong when he woke up on October 14, 2013.
Then, he felt dizzy and suffered tightness in the chest. Based on the test results of X-ray, it is known that he has a bacterial infection in his left lung, which has now been recovered.

However, since that day, Landon had no desire to eat or drink even though he can still taste and smell the normal.
Landon body weight also decreased from 47 kg to 31 kg. In fact, his parents always remind him to eat and drink continuously.

Landon had undergone medical tests and consultations with physicians in five cities, in an effort to find the cause of the strange condition.
He also had undergone bone marrow examination, brain scan, abdominal examination, and nutritional and psychological evaluation, but doctors are unable to diagnose the problem.

"It's very unusual. I've never heard of a case like this," said Dr. Ashesh Mehta, a neurologist at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Care Center North Shore-LIJ in Great Neck, New York, who was not involved in the treatment of the child.

Hungry and thirsty in the brain

Mehta says, hunger and thirst are controlled from a large circuits in the brain in various levels.
Disruption anywhere in the whole circuit can cause symptoms such as that experienced by Landon.

Dr. Marc Patterson, a pediatric neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who has cared for Landon, said there may be a problem with the hypothalamus Landon, which is small as bean in the base area of the brain that controls hunger, thirst, body temperature, sleep , and other vital functions.

It could be also bacteria that infect the lungs Landon border crossing blood and brain and affect hipotalamusnya.
Infection or injury to the brain area could explain why Landon was not hungry and thirsty.

"It makes sense that the two go hand in hand with hunger and thirst are controlled by the hypothalamus," said Dr. Caroline Messer, an endocrinologist in New York City.

However, another possibility to say that Landon had suffered resistance to the hormone ghrelin stimulates hunger, or now have excess production of the hormone leptin, which causes a feeling of fullness.
However, this is only going to explain loss of appetite, not a lack of thirst. So says Messer told LiveScience.

Eating, drinking, eating

Although parents Landon constantly remind him to eat, these children continue to lose weight.
If he can not digest enough calories to eat, doctors say they may have to install a liquid infusion.
However, intravenous fluids are susceptible to infection and carries a high risk of complications, Messer said. Instead, Landon might benefit from a drug called megestrol acetate (Megace brand name), appetite stimulant that is often given to patients with cancer and AIDS patients.

Landon inability to feel thirsty can also interfere with the body's electrolyte balance and sodium levels could be too high if not monitored.
Landon case may be the only one in the world.

His family has contacted a division of the National Health Institute evaluate and treat patients with rare diseases are undiagnosed. This program invites only 50 to 100 patients in Bethesda, Maryland, campus annually evaluated by a team of specialists, according to CBS News, and Landon hope to be one of them.
"One hopes that he will be able to overcome this," said Mehta. "However, for the moment Landon family should keep an eye on your calorie intake."

Source : www.livescience.com
Editor : Restu Darma