Editing Boren's Syndrome

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'''Boren's Syndrome''' is a [[human]] disease caused by prolonged exposure to high-yield [[plasma]] or electromagnetic radiation, such as from a [[Plasma Grenade]]. Symptoms include brain tumors, migraines, and amnesia. Without proper treatment, death commonly occurs. Effective treatment requires thirty weeks of intensive chemotherapy. Unconfirmed claims as to the cause of the disease include inhaling the gases released when a [[Type-51 Carbine]] magazine is ejected and being around Plasma Grenades and being exposed to their radiation.

[[Sergeant]] [[Avery Johnson]] supposedly has Boren's Syndrome, said to have been contracted when he used an entire crate of plasma grenades to hold off [[Covenant]] forces on [[Paris IV]],<ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' page 243-245</ref> though this story is apparently a hoax (known as the Paris/BS Spoof) used to hide that Avery Johnson could be a [[SPARTAN-I]]. <ref>''[[Halo: Graphic Novel]] - [[Halo_Graphic_Novel_Pg122#Boren's_Syndrome_Hoax|Boren's Syndrome Hoax]]'', page 122</ref> 

Several members of the [[United Rebel Front]] claimed to have this condition, hoping to bargain with the [[UNSC]] to gain treatment for the condition in trade for some [[FENRIS Nuclear Warhead]]s they had in stock.

==Long Term Effects==
Untreated or unsuccessfully treated, Boren's can be fatal or debilitating. While some effects, such as migraines, can be managed with medication, the tumors involved in the disease usually, or possibly always, become malignant. Because of this, treating Boren's Syndrome invariably means treating cancer, a process that itself can be debilitating. The only way to cure Boren's syndrome, was an intensive regimen of Chemotherapy lasting for thirty weeks.

According to theory, some combination of the disease's (apparently) multiple pathologies discourages [[Flood Super Cell]]s. This would explain why Sergeant Avery Johnson could not be infected when he and his squad were ambushed by the [[Flood]] on [[Installation 04]], leading Master Chief to his moral dilemma. Dr. [[Catherine Elizabeth Halsey|Catherine Halsey]] guesses that there'd be a billion to one chance that Johnson's condition could be reproduced.

Technically, there is no explicit proof that Boren's Syndrome discourages Flood. It may be that the nervous system of someone with the disease simply cannot support Flood. One hypothesis is that an infection form attempting to latch on to a host with Boren's Syndrome would recognize the characteristic neurological disturbances as "irreparable damage," thus rendering the sufferer immune. However, it is highly likely that if this condition did in fact prevent Flood infection the [[Forerunner]] would have found it after hundreds of years of research into Flood prevention.

== Trivia ==
[[File:51181474-Full.jpg|thumb|Half-Infected Johnson, before revival to full infected.|200px]]
* Despite Sergent Johnson's supposed immunity to the Flood, through a [[Life_After_Death|glitch]] that allows him to survive the cutscene, it is possible to see him infected.
*Since Johnson is programmed to revive after being killed, stopping an infection midway will result in momentary death, suddenly changing to a marine infected model and getting up.

==Sources==
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[[Category:Diseases]]