| 10 Weirdest Diseases (0/1) |
EasyNews, UseNet made Ea .. |
| ::darkshadows:: (over@bite.net) |
2008/01/24 14:59 |
Path: news.nzbot.com!not-for-mail
From: "::darkshadows::" <over@bite.net>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rolex
Subject: 10 Weirdest Diseases (0/1)
Message-ID: <5e2ip3dlo0q1he9fn63fbtnr4mkt85jlli@4ax.com>
X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 4.2/32.1118
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 080123-2, 01/23/2008), Outbound message
X-Antivirus-Status: Clean
Lines: 123
X-Complaints-To: abuse@easynews.com
Organization: EasyNews, UseNet made Easy!
X-Complaints-Info: Please be sure to forward a copy of ALL headers otherwise we will be unable to process your complaint properly.
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:59:24 GMT
Xref: news.nzbot.com alt.fan.rolex:5500
10 Weirdest Diseases
Published on 5/11/2007
001 Elephantiasis: grossly enlarged members
Lymphatic filariasis, also known as elephantiasis, is best known from
dramatic photos of people with grossly enlarged or swollen arms and
legs. The disease is caused by parasitic worms, including Wuchereria
bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and B. timori, all transmitted by
mosquitoes. Lymphatic filariasis currently affects 120 million people
worldwide, and 40 million of these people have serious disease. When
an infected female mosquito bites a person, she may inject the worm
larvae, called microfilariae, into the blood. The microfilariae
reproduce and spread throughout the bloodstream, where they can live
for many years. Often disease symptoms do not appear until years after
infection. As the parasites accumulate in the blood vessels, they can
restrict circulation and cause fluid to build up in surrounding
tissues. The most common, visible signs of infection are excessively
enlarged arms, legs, genitalia, and breasts.
002 Progeria: the 80-Year-Old Children
Progeria is caused by a single tiny defect in a child's genetic code,
but it has devastating and life-changing consequences. On average, a
child born with this disease will be dead by the age of 13. As they
see their bodies fast forward through the normal process of ageing
they develop striking physical symptoms, often including premature
baldness, heart disease, thinning bones and arthritis. Progeria is
extremely rare, there are only around 48 people living with it in the
whole world. However, there is a family that has five children with
the disease.
003 Werewolf Syndrome: the wolf people
When two year-old Abys DeJesus grew dark, hairy patches on her face,
doctors said she has a condition known as Human Werewolf Syndrome. The
disease is called werewolf syndrome because people with it look like
werewolves - except without the sharp teeth and claws. In Mexico, a
large family of men had hair that covered their faces and upper
bodies. Two brothers were even offered a part in the X-Files but they
turned down the offer.
004 Blue Skin Disorder: the blue people
A large family simply known as the "blue people" lived in the hills
around Troublesome Creek in Kentucky until the 1960s. They were the
blue Fugates. Most of them lived past the age of 80, with no serious
illness - just blue skin. The trait was passed on from generation to
generation. People with this condition have blue, plum, indigo or
almost purple skin. (Source)
005 Pica: the urge to eat non-food substances
People diagnosed with Pica have an insatiable urge to eat non-food
substances like dirt, paper, glue and clay. Though it is believed to
be linked with mineral deficiency, health experts have found no real
cause and no cure for this disorder.
006 Vampire Disease: pain from the sun
There are people out there who go to great lengths to avoid the sun.
If they are caught in the sun, their skin will blister. Some of them
have pain and blistering as soon as the sun touches their skin. Ok, so
they're not actually vampires. They don't drink blood and sleep in
coffins, but they do suffer from a rare disease that has vampire-like
symptoms.
007 Alice in Wonderland syndrome: time, space and body image are
distorted
Alice in Wonderland syndrome (AIWS), or micropsia, is a disorienting
neurological condition which affects human visual perception. Subjects
perceive humans, parts of humans, animals, and inanimate objects as
substantially smaller than in reality. Generally, the object perceived
appears far away or extremely close at the same time. For example, a
family pet, such as a dog, may appear the size of a mouse, or a normal
car may look shrunk to scale. This leads to another name for the
condition, Lilliput sight or Lilliputian hallucinations, named after
the small people in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. The condition
is in terms of perception only; the mechanics of the eye are not
affected, only the brain's interpretation of information passed from
the eyes.
008 Blaschko's lines: strange stripes all over the body
Blaschko's lines are an extremely rare and unexplained phenomenon of
human anatomy first presented in 1901 by German dermatologist Alfred
Blaschko. Neither a specific disease nor a predictable symptom of a
disease, Blaschko's lines are an invisible pattern built into human
DNA. Many inherited and acquired diseases of the skin or mucosa
manifest themselves according to these patterns, creating the visual
appearance of stripes. The cause of the stripes is thought to result
from mosaicism; they do not correspond to nervous, muscular, or
lymphatic systems. What makes them more remarkable is that they
correspond quite closely from patient to patient, usually forming a
"V" shape over the spine and "S" shapes over the chest, stomach, and
sides.
009 Walking Corpse Syndrome: they believe to have died
It is a syndrome of mental depression and suicidal tendencies, in
which the patient complains of having lost everything: possessions,
part of or entire body, often believing that he or she has died and is
a walking corpse. This delusion is usually expanded to the degree that
the patient might claim that he can smell his own rotting flesh and
feel worms crawling through his skin. The latter phenomenon is a
recurring experience of people chronically deprived of sleep or
suffering amphetamine/cocaine psychosis. Paradoxically, being "dead"
often gives the patient the nation of being immortal.
010 Jumping frenchman disorder: weird reflexes
The main characteristic is that patients are extremely startled by an
unexpected noise or sight. It's not just twitching when someone sneaks
up behind you. Patients with this disorder flail their arms, cry out
and repeat words. First identified in some of Maine's lumberjacks of
French-Canadian origin, the odd reflex has been identified in other
parts of the world, too.
|
|
|