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(From "The War of the Masters" continuity)
DNSS, or Degenerative Neural Sheath Annihilation Syndrome is an inherited defect common to the Moab III/New Saigon system in the Hromi Cluster (Hromi XIII to be precise).
It is characterized by a three part cycle, it is (as of 2412) Incurable, and it is always fatal.
It is believed to be the result of less-than-competent, 21st or early 22nd century Recombinant DNA research and procedures applied under frantic conditions after the initial group of colonists arrived in the Moab system some 300 years prior to leaving Earth. (estimated to be the result of a 'rogue' wormhole catching the initial colony flotilla, which had been going to a much nearer star system in the wrong direction).
According to historical researchers from Starfleet, the colonists arrived in the Moab system with broken ships and no way to repair them, one mostly-earthlike world with a toxic biology and a near-habitable moon they lacked the equipment to terraform, and a major problem; how to adapt and survive three centuries before the technology they could not repair had been invented.
The adaptation kind of worked. It has side effects. One of those, is a heritable set of dangerous recessives, that resulted in a large proportion of 2nd and 3rd generation colonists developing an aggressive nervous system collapse.
Symptoms usually initiate after puberty, right around the time that the skull's plates finally fuse (age 23 to 27 in most humans) and the brain stops building additional mass and starts reconfiguring.
Stage 0: This is the most common, and is termed 'asymptomatic' with the marker genes for the syndrome present, but not active.
Stage 1: The defect goes active. This includes a gradual reduction in the ability of brain tissue to process endorphins and para-endorphins, along with the death of endorphin-producing tissues and receptors. Visible symptoms include chronic headaches, sleeplessness, fatigue, and incipient biochemical depression.
Stage 2: Adds seizures and in increase in chronic pain and discomfort, along with 'ghost sensations' lingering after physical contact is over, and body aches. Stage two treatment generally begins with analgesics and anti-seizure medications, but as the discomfort increases, stronger drugs are required and seizures last longer. Late stage two can include seizures lasting up to an hour, and the use of medical grade surgical drugs to control pain.
Stage 3: Nothing works. Seizures don't stop, muscle contractions during seizures have broken bones, dislocated joints, and damged internal organs beyond repair. The victim is entirely conscious in Stage 3, and unable to go into shock. The result is a patient that is in a constant seizure state, in constant agony, who is going insane, and even very powerful medications cannot reduce the discomfort or stabilize the nervous system.
Starfleet Medical has tracked the progress of DNSS to the point that an analysis of an inactive, phase 0 patient, can pinpoint within around 96 to 108 hours, how long that person will live before the syndrome becomes fatal, including predicting the baseline of how long a patient has between first symptoms of Stage 1, and the beginnings of Stage 2 (within 96 hours plus or minus).
For this reason, patients who test positive for upward of 85% of genetic markers for this syndrome are automatically barred from Starfleet and UFP Civil Service.
As of 2406, fifteen percent of Moab III, and ten percent of New Saigon colonists have either over 85% of the markers, or active diagnosis of DNSS.