This is the title of my dissertation for the Ph.D. degree in Psychophysiology with an emphasis in Neuroscience. My research began in 1989 and continues today. My wish is to express to the reader of this article what I have found and continue to find in studying and observing those afflicted with this illness. Perhaps one of the best kept secrets in medicine today is that humans are developing previously unknown and frightening diseases which are emerging as distinct disease entities.
Diagnosis is evasive, but essential to proper treatment.
I believe these newly emerging diseases represent a world out of balance. There is good reason to believe that these diseases may be due to our suffering, toxic environment and the effect this environment is having on our immune systems. Hypotheses and research toward discovering causes for these illnesses have tended to focus on infectious agents, such as viruses or bacterium. Relatively little attention has been paid to the issue of susceptibility. The sensitivity to odors which often causes exacerbation of all symptoms may be explained by a dysregulation of the part of the brain known as the piriform cortex.