ChatGPT 'uncovered woman's rare condition' after years of misdiagnosis

ChatGPT has helped to uncover a woman's rare condition after years of being misdiagnosed by doctors.

Phoebe Tesoriere, 23, claims she was told she was anxious, depressed, had epilepsy and warned she'd be treated as a mental health patient if she kept returning to A&E.

Following three days in a coma after a seizure, Phoebe, from Cardiff, put her symptoms into the AI chatbot.

She said it suggested a number of conditions, including hereditary spastic paraplegia, external, which Phoebe presented to her GP. Genetic testing confirmed the diagnosis.

Dr Rebeccah Tomlinson is a GP serving Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan, and said: "It's difficult for GPs to know everything.

"With the pressure on the NHS, we have to know even more.

"Patients coming with information helps me understand what they are thinking and guide the discussion more clearly.

"It's good as a starting talking point [AI tools] which should be followed by going to a medical professional to discuss concerns further.

"It's helpful for patients to come armed with information but the GP has to be open and receptive to the patient.

"General practice has to be a two-way conversation."

A recent University of Oxford study found that people using AI for healthcare advice were given a mix of good and bad responses, making it hard to identify what advice they should trust.

Phoebe understands the challenges the hospital faced diagnosing her, but said she turned to AI after finding the experience "really lonely".

"I had to fight to be listened to," she added.

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Source: BBC News, 9 April 2026