The Elephant Man and a new treatment November 23, 2006

Joseph Carey Merrick (1862 – 1890), also known as “The Elephant Man” was famous for the extreme deformity of his body. He thought to be suffering from elephantiasis (the name was inspired by the “Elephant Man”), but he actually suffered from proteus syndrome, a congenital disorder that causes skin overgrowth and abnormal bone development, often accompanied by tumors on over half the body.

For proteus syndrome, there is no known cure this time, but regarding elephantiasis, there is a new hopeful treatment. Elephantiasis generally results from obstructions of the lymphatic vessels. It is most commonly caused by a parasitic disease known as lymphatic filariasis.

But, Mark Taylor (Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool, UK) and colleagues tried doxycycline as an effective antibiotic. The parasites responsible for elephantiasis have a population of symbiotic bacteria, Wolbachia, that live inside the worm. When the symbiotic bacteria are killed by the antibiotic, the worms themselves also die.

The result: complete elimination of adult worms 14 months after treatment. It may mean a new ray of light for people suffering from filariasis induced elephantiasis. Currently, more than 120 million people are affected by lymphatic filariasis, including 25 million men who suffer from the genital swellings associated with the disease and 15 million people who suffer from severe lymphodema or elephantiasis of the leg.