EPISODE

2. Paternity

When a teenage lacrosse player is stricken with an unidentifiable brain disease, Dr. House and the team hustle to give his parents answers. Chase breaks the bad news that the kid has multiple sclerosis, but the boy's night-terror hallucinations disprove the diagnosis and send House and his team back to square one. As the boy's health deteriorates, House's side-bet on the paternity of the patient infuriates Dr. Cuddy and the teenager's parents but may just pay off in spades.

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THIS ENTRY’S STORY

Plot summary and ending

Spoilers ahead. Coverage follows the scope labeled below.

Complete story — includes the ending

A 16-year-old high school student, Dan ( Scott Mechlowicz ), starts suffering night terrors and frequent hallucinations after playing lacrosse at school. Dan's parents take him to see Dr. House after receiving a letter that Cameron sent in House's name. Upon meeting the family, House begins a bet to determine whether they are his biological parents. After Dan exhibits more symptoms, including a myoclonic twitch and a blocked blood vessel, House diagnoses Dan. Dan suffers from an auditory hallucination during a procedure, however, ruling out House's diagnosis. Using coffee cups from the parents, House does an unauthorized paternity test and discovers that neither parent is biologically related to Dan. House flashbacks to a case he had earlier that involved a mother who did not want her baby to be vaccinated and theorizes that Dan is suffering from a measles virus contracted during his childhood. House confirms his diagnosis with a retinal biopsy and successfully cures Dan. Final diagnosis: Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis

Sources and content license

Source and revision history · Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, House season 1. HTML formatting and reference markers removed. · Content license