- Taylor Davison, from Newcastle, was believed to have mitochondrial disease
- Doctors thought he would need a wheelchair before suffering an early death
- But testing revealed he was actually plagued with a curable vitamin deficiency
- Now, after being given the correct treatment, the two-year-old is thriving
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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A two-year-old ‘mystery boy’ who was believed to have been suffering from an incurable disease has baffled doctors by making a recovery.
Taylor Davison, from Newcastle, was believed to suffer from mitochondrial disease – which causes the body’s main organs to fail.
Doctors thought he would be reliant on a wheelchair for the rest of his life before succumbing to an early death.
But genetic testing revealed he was actually plagued with a curable vitamin B7 deficiency which was causing identical symptoms.
Now, after being given the correct diagnosis and treatment, he is thriving and enjoying his life.
Taylor Davison, was believed to suffer from mitochondrial disease – which causes the body’s main organs to fail. But genetic testing revealed he was actually plagued with a curable vitamin B7 deficiency which was causing identical symptoms
His mother Stephanie Rossiter, 24, said: ‘Taylor confused them all and they called him the mystery boy.
‘We thought Taylor was going to have to spend his life in a wheelchair and then when the disease took hold of his main organs it would mean death.
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‘We went through turmoil. I would pass his room and wonder how long he would be with us. It was awful.
‘We thought Taylor would die but now he is doing everything other kids do.
Now, after being given the correct diagnosis and treatment, he is thriving and enjoying his life with his parents Steven Davison, 25, and Stephanie Rossiter, 24
‘But now we are watching him grow and doing all the things any boy his age would do. He loves being naughty and loves chips.
‘Every day we are so grateful for what we have. We are so grateful that he is cured.’
MITOCHONDRIA DISEASE
In every cell in the body, mitochondria are responsible for producing energy (called ATP) that the cell needs to function.
When a person has mitochondrial disease the mitochondria in the cells are not producing enough energy for the cell.
If a cell does not get enough energy it cannot function properly.
There is a huge variety in the symptoms and severity of mitochondrial disease, depending on how many cells are affected, and where they are in the body.
Each individual will have a different combination that are working and not working within each cell.
The commonest parts of the body affected are those that have the highest energy demands; brain, muscle, liver, heart and kidney.
If a lot of mitochondria in the body are affected in the important body organs, like the brain, mitochondrial disease can be very serious.
Source: The Lily Foundation
Taylor’s symptoms came out of nowhere, his family say, as in April he was suddenly unable to stand or hold himself up.
Miss Rossiter and her partner, Steven Davison, 25, rang the NHS non-emergency line 111.
After describing his symptoms over the phone, an ambulance was immediately called to get him to hospital.
Once at the hospital, his body started ‘jerking’ and he was raced into the resuscitation room.
His illness left him unable to walk or swallow, leading doctors to carry out a series of blood tests and brain scans to determine what was wrong.
The results were then sent to genetic specialists in Oxford who told the family he could be suffering from mitochondrial disease.
But the couple had never heard of the condition and so conducted their own research.
However, further testing revealed Taylor was actually suffering from biotinidase deficiency – which mimics that of mitochondrial disease.
This is when biotin – also known as vitamin B7 – is not released from proteins in the diet during digestion.
By replacing the vitamins he needed, he was able to recover from some of his symptoms.
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