My 13-year-old son has been experiencing a condition in which,
amongst other things, he appears to lose sensation and muscle
control in his legs for short periods of time (several minutes).

During these times, he is lucid, but he is unable to stand up,
and he claims not to feel or notice any sort of sensation in
his legs.  If I pinch the skin of his legs, for example -- even
if I pinch very hard -- he appears not even to be aware that
I'm doing anything (unless he's looking at what I'm doing).

The really strange thing, though, is that during these episodes,
he can feel sensations completely normally in his feet (from the
ankles down) -- just not in his legs (from the hips all the way
down to the ankles).

His patellar and plantar reflexes appear normal during these
episodes.  He's also completely conscious, alert, and can talk
coherently when they occur.

He's had an MRI exam of his head, which multiple experts have
said showed no signs of anything abnormal.  He's also had an
extended EEG (2-day hospital stay), which was intended to see
any possible seizure disorders, but no such problem was found.
The neurologist we were referred to is absolutely convinced
that there is "nothing wrong" with our son, and at this point
we've been advised that whatever is going on is most likely in
the psychiatric realm somewhere.  I doubt we're going to get
anyone to agree to run any further tests without extremely
compelling indications of something very specific (and maybe
not even then).

Does the above remind anyone of any sort of condition that is
worth pursuing further?  

Rich Wales            richw@richw.org            http://www.richw.org
*DISCLAIMER:  I am not a doctor.  My comments are for discussion pur-
poses only and are not intended to be relied upon as medical advice.