LOMA

Transcircadian Neuroatypical Hyperemesis (TracNaHp) colloqially known as LOMA is a proposed new form of Asperger Syndrome. The disease has been studied at Allegheny College by Doctor Spencer Garrison since August 2015.
Characteristics
LOMA is notably unique because of its effective time range. While symptoms are not deviant from Asperger Syndrome or other forms of High-Functioning Autism, they only seem to occur in the morning or just after waking.
Patients with LOMA typically have a difficult time interacting with other people before at least two hours of waking time. It is distinct from the possibly-related affliction sleep inertia in that other symptoms such as fatigue are overshadowed by others more closely associated with autism such as difficulty socializing and expressing emotions.
Social and Cultural Response
LOMA sufferers in current society are supported by a few institutions founded specifically to raise awareness. Though the earliest of these have been functioning since 1989 in the form of the Erie Society for Eccentric Neuropathies. The organization was formed by Doctor Spencer Garrison and provides awareness campaigns in Northwestern Pennsylvania and lobbies government officials as well.
History
The history of LOMA begins in the 1940's, when Hans Asperger began to observe autism-like symptoms in young men he examined as a pediatrician. Asperger noticed that patients he examined early in the morning tended to show signs of being full-blown autists, whereas patients he examined later in the day acted more normally. Specifically, Asperger noticed that early-morning patients were extremely irritable and antisocial. Additionally, Asperger observed that some patients displayed strong negative reactions to clapping.
Asperger was close to a breakthrough and he knew it, as he wrote in his 1947 memoir, . He simply needed more time and support to take his research to the finish line. Sadly, before he could publish his research, Asperger died in a fiery plane crash in central North Dakota that killed 2 civilians and an entire herd of cattle.
After the tragic plane crash, Asperger's work was largely discredited and forgotten. Most autism researchers chalked up Aspergers findings simply to mental fatigue, refusing to believe that something as trivial as morning autism could possibly exist.
After nearly 70 years of dormancy, Asperger's research was continued by Doctor Spencer Garrison in 2015. A student at Allegheny College, Dr. Garrison observed many classmates were unable to function effectively in morning classes, only to perform much better as the day carried on. Garrison conducted a study in late 2015 that found most students who underperformed in morning classes did not have these issues in high school. Thus, the late-onset theory was born. To determine if these students were suffering from some sort of autism, Garrison conducted a flapping test. Shockingly, 97% of students who reported underperformance in morning classes tested positive in the flapping test. The morning autism theory was proven.
While LOMA is still gaining traction in the scientific community, a research paper completed in 2015 support the evidence found by Dr. Garrison. A paper published in Natural Medicine from the Centre for Applied Genomics reported that, while sequencing the genomes of autists, scientists discovered that a specific strand of code in mRNA was causing extremely severe cases of morning autism in already autistic patients. Upon further research by Dr. Garrison, this same strand of genetic code in mRNA was found in the students who tested positive in his "flapping test". A genetic basis for LOMA was uncovered.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu