Mystery Diagnosis is a television program that airs on the OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Each episode focuses on two or more individuals and their struggles to find out what ailments they suffer from.

The series debuted on Discovery Health Channel

Discovery Health Channel

Discovery Health Channel is a website owned by Discovery Communications, created for people interested in health and wellness. Until December 31, 2010, it was a U.S. cable television specialty channel dedicated to television programming that highlights various aspects of health and wellness...

 in 2005, and was continued when OWN replaced Discovery Health on January 1, 2011; the new season premiered January 5, 2011.

Description

Every story generally begins with a short description of the sufferer's life before they fell ill. The symptoms that the person experienced are then described and usually become progressively worse. The person will go from doctor to doctor and receive various misdiagnoses or may be told that there is nothing wrong with them at all. After some time of suffering, which ranges from a few days to several years, the person will find out about a doctor who is willing to get to the bottom of their case. The doctor reviews the patient's medical records and does some testing, and finally reaches the correct diagnosis and gives the sufferer the proper treatment. The story ends with a description of what the person's life is like today. Usually, the sufferer is still alive. Some have died after the episode was taped or aired, and only one has died before the diagnosis.

The series has no regular cast except for its narrator, David Guion, and since 2009 David Scott, who describes the patients' lives and the destruction their illnesses bring. The patients themselves, along with their friends and family help to narrate their story. Among the more common illnesses mentioned on the show are epilepsy

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...

, Myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability...

, Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency

Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency

Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder caused by defective production of alpha 1-antitrypsin , leading to decreased A1AT activity in the blood and lungs, and deposition of excessive abnormal A1AT protein in liver cells...

, heart disease

Heart disease

Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...

, pulmonary hypertension

Pulmonary hypertension

In medicine, pulmonary hypertension is an increase in blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, pulmonary vein, or pulmonary capillaries, together known as the lung vasculature, leading to shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, and other symptoms, all of which are exacerbated by exertion...

, Lyme disease

Lyme disease

Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto is the main cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii cause most...

, veral various cancers and various undiagnosed tumor

Tumor

A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...

s. Other times it is just an infection of some sort.

Other activities

In 2009, Mystery Diagnosis was named the program partner in organizing Rare Disease Day

Rare Disease Day

Rare Disease Day is an observance held on the last day of February to raise awareness for rare diseases and improve access to treatment and medical representation for individuals with rare diseases and their families...

, an observance intended to raise awareness of rare disease

Rare disease

A rare disease, also referred to as an orphan disease, is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population.Most rare diseases are genetic, and thus are present throughout the person's entire life, even if symptoms do not immediately appear...

s among the general public and policy-makers. Mystery Diagnosis worked with the United States coordinator, National Organization for Rare Disorders

National Organization for Rare Disorders

The National Organization for Rare Disorders is an American non-profit organization aiming to provide support individuals with rare diseases by advocating and funding research, education, and networking among service providers...

, to organize events across the country for observing Rare Disease Day at the end of February.

All episodes formerly premiered on Discovery Health channel, The Learning Channel (TLC), and sometimes on the Discovery Channel. As of January 2011, new episodes air on OWN.