There were 5 males and 10 females. All 15 were exposed to environmental contamination by Chaetomium as well as Aspergillus/Penicillium molds. 10/15 were in Alternaria contamination, 13/15 in Stachybotrys, and 10/15 in Mucor/Rhizopus contaminated spaces. 10/15 patients were found to have significant levels of trichothecene mycotoxin in their urine. 13 of 15 were disabled by the mold exposure, and 9 were permanently disabled.

MTHFR genetic variants were found in 10 of the 15 mold-exposed pain patients. 8 had at least one C677T variant and 2 had the A1298C mutation. 13 of the 15 patients had objective cognitive impairment. 7 had positive antibody titers against Stachybotrys.

Campbell and Thrasher (2004) have documented the wide-ranging neurotoxity of trichothecenes. As it would be highly unethical to expose humans to these mycotoxins in a prospective, blinded and controlled trial to obtain measures of human illness in a dose-response curve fashion, the natural experiment of weather disasters and domestic water incursions may be the only way to elucidate the relationship between mold poison exposure and such neurological illness. Removing these patients from mold-contaminated homes seemed to improve their symptoms. Some possible avenues for additional treatment strategies will also be presented. Further research on these associations is warranted.