Oddest Medical Conditions...

Wow... I just came across this article on the Net and would like to share it with you guys. Like the article said, "The next time you complain about having the common cold, think about these maladies." So here it goes:

#1: Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Looking in the mirror and seeing your head and hands five times their real size may not mean you have "gone mad," but instead are suffering from Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS).

The most prominent symptom of AIWS is metamorphosis of the body, seeing parts much larger or smaller than they really are. Visual perception of other objects, such as buildings or cars, can look tiny to someone suffering from AIWS.

Other symptoms can be distorted time perception, or time seemingly going by very slowly or quickly. Someone with AIWS might feel distorted touch perception, for example feeling like you are standing on spongy ground when it is actually concrete. These symptoms are most commonly felt at night.

Scientists are unsure of the causes of AIWS, but think there may be a link to migraines. Currently there is no treatment for this syndrome, but regulating your sleep patterns and incorporating healthy eating habits has shown to lessen the symptoms of AIWS.
(Image taken from: http://memetician.livejournal.com/)

#2: Progeria
Brad Pitt's role in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was based on a real life medical condition. Progeria, also known as Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria syndrome, is a disease that accelerates the aging process when a child is 18 to 24 months old.

As the child grows, some symptoms include hair loss, a small face, thin skin, loss of body fat, and a short stature. Children with progeria age six to eight times faster than the average person, and rarely live past the age of 13, due to heart disease.

Only about 100 cases of progeria have ever been formally diagnosed in medical history. The odds of being diagnosed are roughly one in 8 million. Researchers are coming closer to answers recently discovered the cause of progeria in 2002. They believe it is caused by a mutation in the gene called LMNA, which makes the Lamin A protein. A effective Lamin A protein causes instability of cells which appear to lead to the process of premature aging.

Although a rare disease, there has been more awareness thanks to Hollywood. Will Smith sent $25,000 to the Progeria Research Foundation last year.

(Image taken from: http://xenoargento.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/curious_case_of_benjamin_button_baby_poster.jpg)

#3: Werewolf Syndrome
Hypertrichosis, a rare genetic condition also known as Werewolf Syndrome, causes a person's body to be covered with thick, matted hair. You can read more from: http://thehumanmarvels.com/?p=105
(Image taken from: http://amazingdata.com/8-most-bizarre-rare-skin-conditions-skin-diseases/)

#4: Tree Man
Dede Koswara, the Indonesian man known to the world as "Tree Man," constantly battles woody bark-like growths, which cover his body.

Having been largely freed from what doctors said was an extreme case of the sexually transmitted disease human pappilomavirus (HPV), Dede's life began returning to normal after surgery - doctors removed 13 pounds of warts. He was diagnosed by American dermatologist, Dr. Anthony Gaspari. After the surgery, Dede's hands — once an indistinguishable mass of scales — were able to once again hold a cell phone and a fishing pole. But just four months after leaving hospital, Dede spoke to Metro.co.uk of his dismay to find the warts were fighting back.

"Those (warts) that were removed are growing again and started to reappear after I returned home," he said from his home in the West Java village of Tanjung Jaya. "I'm not desperate but I want to recover."
(Image taken from: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/health/2010/02/16/oddest-medical-conditions?slide=4)

#5: Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder
Dr. Sandra Leiblum, former director of the Center for Sexual and Relationship Health at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey and author of "Principles and Practices of Sexual Therapy," first coined the term ‘persistent sexual arousal syndrome,’ which later became persistent genital arousal disorder.

Leiblum defined persistent sexual arousal syndrome as "intense feelings of genital congestion and sensations that are typically unaccompanied by any conscious awareness of sexual desire" in an article published for the Women's Sexual Health Foundation in Cincinnati, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating women and doctors on conditions that may impact sexual health and function.

Paradoxically, she wrote, sexual activities intended to relieve the symptoms can reinforce the sensations or provide only temporary relief. In fact, Leiblum said, the sensations can last hours or even days, and they truly are unwanted and intrusive. Persistent genital arousal disorder affects women of all ages. It isn’t known how many women are afflicted, because many feel too embarrassed to speak with their doctors.

(Image taken from: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/health/2010/02/16/oddest-medical-conditions?slide=5)

#6: Parasitic Twin
Lakshmi Tatma was born joined at the pelvis to a “parasitic twin” that stopped developing in her mother’s womb. The twin had no head or brain, but Lakshmi absorbed the twin's limbs, kidneys and other body parts. It took doctors 27 hours to operate on Lakshmi.

During the surgery, which took place at the Sparsh hospital in Bangladore, India, surgeons removed Lakshmi’s extra limbs, transplanted a kidney from the twin and reconstructed the girl’s pelvic area. However, she will require more surgeries and rehabilitation, especially as she grows. Lakshmi was named for the six-limbed Hindu goddess who represented wealth and prosperity. Lakshmi is now attending school, and playing sports.
(Image taken from: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/health/2010/02/16/oddest-medical-conditions?slide=6)

#7: Foreign Accent Syndrome
This is a rare syndrome that affects only people who have had strokes – they emerge from the stroke speaking in an accent different from the one they used to speak.

It can happen if a stroke damages the parts of the left hemisphere of the brain related to speech production. Foreign Accent Syndrome was highlighted in last year’s "Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences," when a woman from Ontario, Canada had a left-sided stroke and began speaking in an East Coast accent.
(Image taken from: http://www.foxnews.com/slideshow/health/2010/02/16/oddest-medical-conditions?slide=7)

Here is another article on other oddest medical conditions (I shared out 2 of them here):

#1: Blue Skin Disorder
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.

#2: Walking Corpse Syndrome
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.