The rarest diseases.
Nature is limitless and amazing in all its manifestations, including those that are not the most pleasant and safe for humans. For example, even the best of doctors cannot comprehend all the diseases to which people are susceptible. Many are sure that healthy image life and regular preventive procedures provide 100% protection against various problems with health, but sometimes people “catch” diseases that they have never even heard of. Here are some of the exotic ailments.
1. “Stone Man” Syndrome
This innate hereditary pathology, also known as fibrodysplasia ossificans progressive, or Munheimer's disease, is caused by a mutation in a gene and is one of the rarest diseases in the world.
The bottom line is that inflammatory processes occurring in ligaments, muscles, tendons and other connective tissues lead to calcification and ossification of matter, which can lead to serious problems With musculoskeletal system. This disease is also called “disease of the second skeleton”, since in the human body there is active growth bone tissue.
On at the moment 800 cases of fibrodysplasia have been registered in the world, and so far doctors have not found effective methods for treating or preventing this disease - only painkillers are used to alleviate the plight of patients. I must say, there is hope for correcting the situation, since in 2006 scientists managed to discover which genetic disorder leads to the formation of a “second skeleton”, and active clinical trials are currently underway to develop ways to combat this terrible disease.
2. Progressive lipodystrophy
People suffering from this unusual condition appear much older than their age, which is why it is sometimes called “reverse Benjamin Button syndrome.” For example, in one of known cases With this type of lipodystrophy, 15-year-old Zara Hartshorn is often mistaken for the mother of her older 16-year-old sister. What is the reason for such rapid aging?
Due to hereditary genetic mutation, and sometimes as a result of the use of certain medicines autoimmune mechanisms are disrupted in the body, which leads to rapid loss subcutaneous fat reserves. Most often suffers adipose tissue face, neck, upper limbs and torso, resulting in wrinkles and folds. So far, only 200 cases of progressive lipodystrophy have been confirmed, and it mainly develops in women. In treatment, doctors use insulin, facelifts and collagen injections, but this gives only a temporary effect.
3. Geographical language
Interesting name for a disease, isn't it? However, there is also scientific term to designate this “sore” - desquamative glossitis.
Geographic tongue occurs in approximately 2.58% of people, and most often the disease has chronic properties and worsens after eating, during stress or hormonal stress.
Symptoms manifest themselves in the appearance of discolored smooth spots on the tongue, reminiscent of islands, which is why the disease received such an unusual nickname, and over time, some “islands” change their shape and location, depending on which of the taste buds located on the tongue heal, and some, on the contrary, get irritated.
Geographic tongue is practically harmless, if you do not take into account increased sensitivity to spicy food or some discomfort it may cause. Medicine does not know the causes of this disease, but there is evidence of a genetic predisposition to its development.
4. Gastroschisis
Under this somewhat funny name lies a creepy birth defect, in which loops of intestines and other internal organs fall out of the body through a cleft in the anterior wall of the abdominal cavity.
According to statistics from American doctors, gastroschisis occurs on average in 373 out of 1 million newborns, and young mothers have a slightly higher risk of having a child with this disorder. Previously, approximately 50% of infants with gastroschisis died, but thanks to the development of surgery, mortality has been reduced to 30%, and in the best clinics The world manages to save about nine out of ten babies.
5. Xeroderma pigmentosum
This hereditary disease skin is manifested in a person’s increased sensitivity to ultraviolet rays. It occurs due to mutation of proteins responsible for correcting DNA damage that appears when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. The first symptoms usually appear in early childhood(up to 3 years): when a child is in the sun, he or she develops serious burns after just a few minutes of exposure sun rays. The disease is also characterized by the appearance of freckles, dry skin and uneven discoloration of the skin.
According to statistics, people with xeroderma pigmentosum are more at risk of developing cancer than others: in the absence of proper preventive measures, approximately half of children suffering from xeroderma develop one or another by the age of ten cancer. There are eight types of this disease of varying severity and symptoms. According to European and American doctors, the disease occurs in approximately four people out of a million.
6. Arnold-Chiari malformation
Speaking in simple language, the essence of this disease is that due to the rapid growth of the brain in the slowly developing bones of the skull, the cerebellar tonsils are immersed in the foramen magnum with compression of the medulla oblongata.
Previously it was believed that the deviation was exclusively congenital, but latest research prove that this is not so. The incidence of this anomaly ranges from 33 to 82 cases per million, and it is diagnosed in both children and adults.
There are several types of Arnold-Chiari malformation: from the most common to the least hard first, to the very rare and dangerous fourth. Symptoms may appear in at different ages and most often begin with severe headaches. One of the recognized methods of helping with the disease is surgical decompression of the skull.
7. Alopecia areata
The reasons for the development of this disease lie at the cellular level - immune system attacks by mistake hair follicles, which leads to baldness. One of the most severe and rare forms of this disease, alopecia totalis, can lead to complete loss of scalp hair, eyelashes, eyebrows and hairline legs, while in some cases the follicles are capable of self-healing.
About 2% of the world's population are susceptible to the disease, and methods for treating and preventing the disease are currently being developed, however, the fight against alopecia areata is complicated by the fact that in the initial stages the deviation is characterized only by itching and hypersensitivity skin.
8. Nail-patella syndrome (nail-patella syndrome)
This disease in mild form manifests itself in the absence or abnormal growth of nails (with depressions and growths), but its symptoms can be quite varied - up to more serious skeletal abnormalities such as severe deformation or absence kneecap. In some cases, visible growths are noted on the posterior surface ilium, scoliosis and patellar dislocation.
A rare hereditary disorder occurs due to a mutation in the LMX1B gene, which plays a role in important role in the development of limbs and kidneys. The syndrome occurs in 1 person out of 50 thousand, but the symptoms are so varied that sometimes the disease can be detected by initial stage incredibly difficult.
9. Hereditary sensory neuropathy type 1
One of the rarest diseases in the world, this type of neuropathy is diagnosed in two out of a million people. The anomaly occurs due to damage to the peripheral nervous system, resulting from an overabundance of the PMP22 gene.
The main sign of the development of hereditary sensory neuropathy The first type is loss of sensation in the arms and legs. A person stops experiencing pain and feeling a change in temperature, which can lead to tissue necrosis, for example, if a fracture or other injury is not recognized in time. Pain is one of the body’s reactions that signal any “problems”, so loss of pain sensitivity is fraught with too late detection dangerous diseases, be it infections or ulcers.
10. Congenital myotonia
If you've ever heard of goat faint, then you know roughly what congenital myotonia looks like - due to muscle spasms, a person seems to freeze for a while.
The cause of congenital (congenital) myotonia is a genetic deviation: due to mutation, the functioning of chlorine channels is disrupted skeletal muscles. Muscle tissue turns out to be “confused”, voluntary contractions and relaxations occur, and the pathology can affect the muscles of the legs, arms, jaws and diaphragm.
Now there are no doctors effective way solutions to this problem, other than radical drug treatment(with the use of anticonvulsant drugs) in the most severe cases. Doctors recommend that almost everyone suffering from this disease alternate regular physical exercise with smooth muscle-relaxing movements. I must say, despite some inconveniences, people with this disease can easily live a long and happy life.
Health
There are a number of diseases that doctors classify as “strange cases.” Some consider them far-fetched, however, patients really suffer, and medicine is powerless to do anything. For example, long-term unwanted orgasms, an inability to experience fear, or strange growths on the skin.
Morgellons disease: is there someone here?
Probably, each of us in life has found ourselves in situations that gave us goosebumps. However, there are people who actually believe that they have something running under their skin. Morgellons disease is a not yet well-researched disease in which people feel as if something is moving, biting or crawling under their skin. The unfortunate ones see that their hair or fur is growing, they also have wounds on their skin, they get tired quickly, and suffer from memory loss.
The cause of the symptoms has not yet been established, however US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The problem was seriously addressed back in 2008. The medical community is divided: Some doctors believe the symptoms are caused by mental illness, but others believe the patient has a skin problem, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Some health experts claim that the disease is caused by an unknown infection. However, others say that this theory is not confirmed, since most patients have no signs infectious infection(for example, no higher level white blood cells). This is what the study showed, the results of which are planned to be published in February in the journal American Journal of Clinical Dermatology.
Alien hand syndrome: my hand doesn't listen to me
In the film "Doctor Strangelove" tells the story of a man right hand who seems to be “living his own life.” In fact, this happens in reality; the disease is called “alien hand syndrome.” In patients, usually one of the hands can take or touch something against patient wishes,
what is said in the description of the disease made in 2004 in the magazine Archives of Neurology.
For example, the journal describes a case recorded in 1998. The article tells the story of an 81-year-old right-handed woman whose left hand was completely uncontrollable. Her left hand could suddenly begin to strangle the patient, hitting her in the face and shoulders. The woman also had vision problems.
In a 2009 article in a journal of stroke and cerebrovascular disease, Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases it is said that a stroke in right lobe brain can lead to alien hand syndrome. Also, some scientists believe that the part of the brain that controls conscious movements may be activated separately in the case of this syndrome.
Cotard's syndrome: I'm a living corpse
Cotard's syndrome or as it is also called Cotard's delirium("living corpse" syndrome) is a very rare disease, in which the patient considers himself dead or that part of his body has died, they write in the journal European Journal of Neurology for 2004. The syndrome mainly occurs in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder However, sometimes it appears in those suffering from migraines, tumors, or after suffering various injuries.
People with Cotard syndrome also believe they are missing an organ or body part, or that their soul is dead, the magazine article says. Neurology for 2002. The syndrome was named after the doctor Jules Cotard (Dr. Jules Cotard), Parisian neurologist.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome: a person without bones
People with this syndrome have unprecedented flexibility, they are able to bend their limbs in incredible directions. At first glance, it seems that such a person has superpowers. Such people also have incredibly elastic skin, but their bodies bruise easily and wounds are difficult to heal, as they write in the magazine Genetics in Medicine for 2010.
Half of patients with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome have mutations in the COL5A1 and COL5A2 genes. The disease affects one in 5 thousand people on the planet. However, most likely there are many more such people. There are eight known mutations associated with this syndrome, which lead to reduced levels of collagen in the patient's connective tissues. There are six types of the syndrome, which are characterized by different problems with the skin and joints.
Urbach-Wiethe disease: I'm not scared
The disease is due to the fact that the patient does not know the feeling of fear. It's very rare genetic disease, which causes brain tissue to harden, according to the journal Current Biology for 2010. In one of the patients, known in science as SM, the disease struck amygdala, which is responsible for the feeling of fear.
The woman was sent to a haunted house, frightened with live snakes and spiders, and shown horror films that would normally evoke a feeling of fear. But she showed no sign that she was afraid. Research into this phenomenon has given scientists the opportunity to make progress in developing treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Involuntary orgasms: is sex necessary?
People suffering from this disease experience orgasms more often than anyone else, but they do not experience much joy, but rather feel confused and depressed.
This problem mainly occurs in women who are hypersensitive to the slightest pressure, and often without any prerequisites and sexual arousal, experience an orgasm.
The disease was first diagnosed in 2001, but little is known about its causes, researchers say. Boston University School of Medicine. The syndrome is very painful for the patient. 40 percent of patients who complained about the problem reported feeling very depressed, and 35 percent reported feeling a little depressed.
Hemolacria: tears of blood
In this condition, a person produces drops of blood along with tears. In most cases, women suffer from this rare disease during their menstrual periods.
According to the magazine Acta Ophthalmologica for 1991, hemolacria can occur in patients with severe conjunctivitis.
In October, a case was recorded in India where a woman cried tears of blood.
She did not have any health problems, so the diagnosis was definitely hemolacria.
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Today, science knows a number of very real ailments that even the greatest hypochondriacs and dreamers cannot invent.
In addition to the shocking symptoms, these diseases are also poorly studied. Their treatment is either impossible or ineffective, at least at this stage of medical development.
Morgellons disease
Everyone is familiar with the situation when “you get goosebumps on your skin.” People with Morgellons disease describe their condition as follows: severe itching And acute sensation that insects are crawling under the skin. The cause of the condition is not clear.
When looking at patients with this disease, one remembers scenes from horror films - people’s whole body itches, then abscesses appear, and from them begin to come out ... multi-colored threads and dark grains like sand. The wounds heal, leaving scars and scars, but soon appear in another place.
As a result of the tests, it turned out that what came out of the patients was not textile fibers, not hair, or even insects, but an unknown substance that originated in the body as a result of an unknown infection.
The threads were offered to forensic scientists for examination, and the substance was subjected to spectroscopic examination. But it was not one of the 800 fibers in the database. The result remained zero: the structure and composition of the thread did not match any of the 90 thousand organic substances!
Morgellons disease also has other symptoms: decreased mental abilities, chronic fatigue, depression, hair loss and muscle spasms.
Some doctors are inclined to believe that this is nothing more than a figment of the patients’ imagination. But what about multi-colored threads in this case? Others claim that Morgellons disease is new look biological weapons.
Cotard's syndrome
This is a rare condition where people think that they have either died or that some parts of their body have died. According to an article published in the Journal of Neuroscience, patients may believe that even their soul has died.
In 1880, the French neurologist Cotard first described this variant of delusion under the name delusion of denial. The syndrome was subsequently named after him. Some psychiatrists speak of Cotard's syndrome as a mirror image of manic delusions of grandeur.
A person suffering from this disease feels dead or non-existent. He feels like he's lost vitality, blood and internal organs, thinks his insides are decomposing. This may be due to depression or severe mental retardation.
Delusions in Cotard's syndrome are characterized by vivid, absurd and grotesquely exaggerated statements against a background of anxious affect. Characteristic complaints from patients are that, for example, the intestines have rotted, or that the patient is the greatest criminal in the history of mankind.
The structure of Cotard's syndrome is dominated by ideas of denial of the external world. Sometimes patients claim that they will face the most severe punishments for all the evil they have brought to humanity. Or that everything around died and the Earth was empty.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
This disease is characterized by the ability to bend limbs in ways impossible for normal people directions. People with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome also have hyperelastic skin. Half of the patients have genetic mutations.
The syndrome is one of the most common hereditary diseases connective tissue. It occurs with a frequency of 1 case per 100,000 newborns. The main symptom is a change in the properties of the skin, manifested in its increased extensibility and slight vulnerability. The skin of such people is thin and fragile. It can be raised by 2 centimeters in those places where this is basically impossible with healthy person. Even with minimal trauma to the skin, “lacerated” wounds occur that heal extremely slowly.
Urbach-Wiethe disease
An extremely rare genetic disease in which a person does not experience a feeling of fear and does not even perceive sources mortal danger as a threat. Scientists have proven that such a deviation is associated with almond-shaped structures in the brain. This discovery may be useful in the treatment of post-traumatic stress stress disorder. But doctors have not yet figured out how to make such “clinically fearless” people afraid.
Persistent sexual arousal syndrome
For people susceptible to this disease, orgasm brings suffering rather than pleasant sensations. The fact is that it happens to them often and, moreover, wherever and whenever. Interestingly, the syndrome was first diagnosed in 2001 and is observed predominantly in women. Characterized by hypersensitivity, which can cause orgasm the slightest pressure from the outside. The cause of the disease has not been established.
Stendhal syndrome
One more unusual illness, in which a person experiences severe anxiety, trembling, hallucinations and dizziness when looking at... objects of art. Figuratively speaking, looking at a painting by Raphael, he may lose consciousness.
The syndrome was named after the 19th century French writer Stendhal, who described his feelings during a visit to Florence: “When I left the Church of the Holy Cross, my heart began to beat, I walked, afraid of collapsing to the ground...”
Not only works of art, but also beauty can cause similar symptoms natural phenomena, animals, men and women. Treatment for Stendhal syndrome is not described, since the disorder occurs extremely rarely and only near works of art and other beautiful phenomena, of which there are not so many around us. Therefore, the disease hardly interferes full life. It remains unclear whether it is even worth treating the syndrome, which manifests itself in sensitive natures from an excess of beauty?
Progeria
Very rare genetic defect, which is characterized by a complex of skin changes and internal organs caused by premature aging of the body. The main forms are childhood progeria - Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome and adult progeria - Werner syndrome.
Progeria in adults is manifested by senile changes in the skin and skeletal muscles, the development of cataracts, and premature arteriosclerosis; It is observed most often in men aged 20-30 years.
Progeria childhood is characterized by proportional dwarfism, absence subcutaneous tissue and recurrent pathological fractures.
To beginning of the XXI century special research There was no research into the causes of progeria; there was an opinion that no medicine could cure this terrible disease. But science does not stand still. Now researchers are closely engaged in studying the causes that cause progeria.
"Stone Muscles"
55-year-old Englishman Robert Kinghorn suffers from a rare genetic disease in which the body forms a secondary skeleton and turns muscles into bones. Doctors call this disease progressive fibrodysplasia ossificans (POF).
To date, there are no methods for treating this disease, which affects about 2.5 thousand people in the world. In such patients, spontaneous growth of bone tissue occurs in the areas of the joints and muscles, as a result of which the person loses the ability to move and simply “turns to stone” - just like in scary fairy tales, which frightened us in childhood.
Robert received the terrible diagnosis when he was two years old. Then Kinghorn had to make a choice between standing or sitting for the rest of his life. He decided that standing was better, and since then he has never sat. Doctors predicted a quick death for the patient. But he turned out to be a man with strong character and is still alive.
Children who develop this disorder are born normal, except incorrect formation thumbs legs Over time, they develop tumors, which, changing location on the body, progressively paralyze the body. Doctors are currently searching for the POF gene. Its isolation may lead to the discovery of methods for treating “stone people.”
Alice in Wonderland syndrome
It turns out that this happens! With this neurological disorder, a person does not distinguish objects by size, considering everything to be tiny - micropsia, or huge - macropsia. Most often, this syndrome is provoked by taking hallucinogenic drugs or the presence of a tumor in the brain.
The disease was first noted by Dr. Lippman in 1952.
People with Alice in Wonderland syndrome see things that are completely different from what they really are. For example, the doorknob may seem to them as big as the door itself, the floor may seem vertical, and the walls of the room will come closer to each other and practically connect. In their minds, chairs and tables can fly through the air and even waltz. Often such people see objects much smaller than they actually are. Visual perception changes so much that a person completely loses control over reality.
As in Lewis Carroll’s fairy tale “Alice in Wonderland,” patients do not understand what is really happening and what they only imagine. There is even a hypothesis: the author of the book suffered from migraines, before the attack of which he began to experience micropsia.
There are quite a few causes of micropsia: migraine, epilepsy, schizophrenia, fever. The syndrome also occurs when taking hallucinogenic drugs, LSD, and sometimes under the influence of marijuana.
Alien hand syndrome
The disease, also called “anarchist hand,” is a neuropsychiatric disorder consisting of impaired ability to make purposeful movements. With it, one or even both hands act “on their own,” regardless of the will of the owner. Sometimes this is accompanied by attacks of epilepsy. Another name for the syndrome is Dr. Strangelove's disease, in honor of the hero of the film "Dr. Strangelove" who suffered from it, whose hand spontaneously raised itself in a Nazi salute.
In 1998, a journal devoted to neurosurgery published the story of a woman whose left hand... involuntarily strangled her and hit her in the face!
If the hand makes chaotic movements, hits its owner or pinches, this is not so bad. Sometimes she starts arguing with the owner - for example, the “good” one ties a shoelace, and the “evil” one unties it.
Some argue that the “anarchist hand” acts under the influence of the unconscious, as if showing a person’s deep attitude towards certain things or actions. Psychiatrists explain this syndrome by disturbances in the interaction between the hemispheres of the brain.
Almost every person has heard of appendicitis. However, there are some diseases in the world that affect only a few dozen or hundreds of people around the world. Usually this hereditary diseases or congenital anomalies developments that significantly complicate the life of the patient himself, as well as a rare pathology of mental activity.
Bloody tears
This disease is scientifically called hemolacria, when within 24 hours, for a reason unknown to science, the eyes suddenly begin to “water” with blood. This phenomenon can occur from 1 to 20 times a day.
Bloody tears are observed with some types of tumors and disorders. However, sometimes hemolacria is observed absolutely against the background full health patient, therefore in such cases they speak of true, idiopathic hemolacria.
It has been noted that this disease appears spontaneously mainly in adolescence or in young people, and then disappears by itself. In women, hemolacria is observed more often, and in most cases - during menstruation, and this helps to diagnose one of the causes of hemolacria - endometriosis.
Hidden hemolacria. In 1991, 125 volunteers who had no health problems were examined. Tear fluid was taken from all of them and examined under a microscope. It turned out that blood cells in tears were found in 18% of women childbearing age, as well as in 7% of pregnant women and 8% of men.
Blue skin
Blue or blue skin syndrome (argyria, argyrosis) is another rare pathology that occurs mainly in those people who have overdone treatment with products containing silver, as well as those associated with the mining or processing of silver.
In this case, silver granules are deposited in the dermis, hair follicles, sweat glands, skin capillaries. Silver particles in such people are also found in the thickness of the mucous membranes of the stomach, oral cavity, intestines, in parenchymal organs(liver, kidneys) and conjunctiva of the eyes.
As a rule, if there is no concomitant silver intoxication, then nothing else bothers the patient except the blue color, but this shade of the skin and mucous membranes remains for the rest of his life.
More blue skin damage may not be associated with exposure to silver, but simply be inherited. For example, during the 60s of the last century, a whole family lived in Kentucky blue people”, whom rumor dubbed the “Blue Fugates”.
Butterfly syndrome
Scientific name of this disease- epidermolysis bullosa. This is rare genetic disease associated with increased vulnerability of the mucous membranes and skin due to mechanical impact(in this way it resembles the fragility of butterfly wings from a careless touch).
The main symptom of epidermolysis bullosa is blisters that appear in areas that are subject to pressure and friction.
Sometimes the disease is so severe that even solid food in the mouth or a normal handshake can cause the formation of new blisters, which, when opened, form numerous wounds where a secondary infection can occur.
“Butterfly children” are forced to endure their entire childhood constant pain, numerous dressings and treatment open wounds. Unfortunately, currently effective therapy this disease has not yet been developed.
Children who grow old quickly
Accelerated aging, or progeria, is another rare disease that occurs due to a small gene abnormality. The result is a crash natural course all processes occurring in the body, and a person begins to age at a rapid pace (on average, within 1 year for 8 or more years at once): heart failure progresses, cataracts develop, or occurs.
Children with this pathology rarely survive to adulthood, usually dying at the age of 11–13 years, although there are isolated cases where the life expectancy was 26 years or more.
When muscles turn into bones
Another rare disease is fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (POF), or Munheimer's disease. This pathology appears due to a mutation of a gene that distorts in the body. As a result of this, for any inflammatory process(for example, after a blow, strong compression of a muscle), foci of increased calcification begin to appear, which subsequently become the center of growth of new bone tissue.
Interestingly, in almost all cases the disease is accompanied by the presence of another congenital pathology, for example, clinodactyly thumb legs (the presence of such a finger in almost 95% of cases indicates that the child will develop fibrodysplasia ossificans).
Starting almost from birth, POF steadily progresses, manifested by calcification and subsequent ossification of muscles, tendons, fascia and ligaments. The disease is also characterized by the appearance of subcutaneous lumps measuring 1–10 cm, localized anywhere (in children, mainly in the back, forearms and neck). Due to the transformation of the soft tissues of the body into bones, POF is also called the disease of the formation of the second skeleton.
Currently, about 800 cases of Munheimer's disease have been reported worldwide. Prevention and effective treatment have not yet been developed.
Fatal familial insomnia
Only 40 families are known to have been found to have this disease. This is a hereditary disease that has varying degrees expressiveness. Occurs as a result of changes occurring in the central part of the brain with the formation of amyloid plaques and damage to the thalamus, which provides communication between the body and the cortex of both hemispheres.
Familial insomnia is accompanied by changes in other organs and systems of the body: the production of tear fluid and pulse rate decrease, a rash may appear and develop.
As a rule, the disease occurs in several stages:
- Stage 1. Insomnia gradually progresses, lasts about 4 months, and is accompanied by the appearance of panic attacks and fears.
- Stage 2. Lasts 5 months, characterized by anxiety, sweating, and hallucinations.
- Stage 3. For 3 months there is complete insomnia, and there is incontinence in actions.
- Stage 4. For 6 months - complete insomnia and dementia. A person may fall into a coma or die from exhaustion, as well as congestive pneumonia.
An analysis of the brains of those who died due to familial insomnia showed that this disease is caused by special proteins that can reproduce independently - prions.
Vampire diseases
In fact, these are 2 rare genetic diseases: ectodermal dysplasia and erythropoietic porphyria. Both diseases are characterized by the fact that patients do not tolerate sunlight well, so their activity increases in the dark.
Ectodermal dysplasia. This is deathly pale skin, the absence of front teeth (there are only fangs), big forehead, sparse hair on the head, increased dry skin. Sunlight causes them advanced education blisters on the skin.
Erythropoietic porphyria. It is characterized by a violation of pigment metabolism, as a result of which porphyrins accumulate in the blood, develops, red urine, neuropsychic and gastrointestinal disorders are periodically observed, and photodermatosis occurs. The skin around the mouth gradually atrophies, forming special type a grin reminiscent of that of fairy-tale vampires, and teeth in ultraviolet rays take on a pink tint. Persons suffering from this disease also prefer to be nocturnal and hide from the sun's rays.
Jumping lumberjack syndrome
U different nations this psychological phenomenon is called differently: arctic hysteria, measuring, Lat syndrome, jumping lumberjack syndrome, etc. This is a peculiar reaction to fear, a sharp shout, sudden movement, manifested in the form of performing certain actions and complete submission.
Today science knows a number of completely real diseases, which even the greatest hypochondriacs cannot dream up: persistent unwanted orgasms, the inability to feel fear, or strange fibers growing from the skin. Except unusual symptoms Such diseases have not yet been studied, and their treatment is either impossible or ineffective. At least at this stage of medical development.
We have collected 7 extremely strange diseases and will now look at them in order.
Morgellons disease
Everyone is familiar with the feeling of “goosebumps,” but some people claim that they actually feel something crawling under their skin. Those with Morgellons disease describe their condition as follows: severe itching and an acute sensation that insects are crawling under the skin. Patients also report threads or fibers growing from the skin and may experience fatigue and memory problems. The cause of the disease is not clear. Some researchers argue that the symptoms are due to mental illness, while others say the disease is caused by an unknown infectious agent.
Alien hand syndrome
The movie Dr. Strangelove tells the story of a man with one arm and a mind of his own. Medicine disease with similar symptoms known as Alien Hand Syndrome. For example, in 1998, a journal devoted to neuralgia and neurosurgery described the story of an 81-year-old woman whose left hand was uncontrollable. Left hand involuntarily strangled her neck and hit her face and shoulders.
Cotard's syndrome
This is a rare condition where people think that they have either died or some organs or parts of their body have died. According to a 2002 article published in the Journal of Neuroscience, patients may also believe that their soul has died.
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome
This disease is characterized by the ability to bend limbs in seemingly impossible directions. Many people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome also have super-elastic skin, but they experience delayed wound healing. Half of patients with this syndrome have genetic mutations.
Urbach-Wiethe disease
A rare genetic disease in which a person does not experience a feeling of fear and does not perceive sources of mortal danger as something threatening. The researchers concluded that the feeling of fear is interconnected with the amygdala-shaped structures in the brain and this discovery may be useful in the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. But how to make such “clinically fearless” people afraid has not yet been figured out.
Persistent sexual arousal syndrome
For people susceptible to this disease, orgasm brings mostly embarrassment and suffering rather than pleasant sensations. The fact is that orgasm happens often and, moreover, wherever and whenever. The syndrome was first diagnosed in 2001 and occurs predominantly in women. The syndrome is characterized by hypersensitivity, which is why the slightest pressure can cause orgasm. The cause of the disease has not been established.
Hemolacria
This is a condition in which a person cries tears of blood. The disease is more often observed in women of childbearing age during menstruation. Hemolacria can also occur as a result of severe conjunctivitis.
