The weirdest medical mysteries of 2006 December 16, 2006

Here are my own list of the most interesting medical mysteries of 2006. I’ve chosen some publications and blogposts on astonishing cases, syndromes. If I missed something, please contact me or send your list and I’ll include it in the article. Enjoy the images below as well.

1. No fingertips: Sufferers of two rare congenital diseases – Naegeli syndrome and Dermatopathia Pigmentosa Reticularis (DPR) – can’t sweat, have thickened palms and soles, and their fingertips are as smooth as porcelain. But the mystery has been revealed.

2. Pregnant man: Bhagat of Nagpur, India, had a really big belly. Doctors thought he might have a giant tumor, so they decided to operate and remove the source of the bulge in his belly. They’ve found an other body, his mutated parasitic twin brother with limbs, some part of genitalia, hair, jaws.

3. The Girl Who Won’t Grow Up: Brooke Greenberg is 13 years old, she weighs just 13 lbs. and is only 27 inches tall. It means that she hasn’t changed in 13 years. Her condition has no name and doctors are unaware of any other child in her situation.

4. Morgellons disease: a mysterious condition marked by the sensation of insects crawling under the skin and sores that erupt and release black specks or fibers that are white or clear, or even blue or red. These fibers have nothing in common with carpet, clothing fibers and other materials. However, the fibers taken from the Morgellons patients matched each other. Still no therapy, no etiology or diagnostic criteria.

5. The death of Slobodan Milosevic: the toxicologists determined that Milosevic ingested the antibiotic rifampicin (antituberculotics), which would blunt the effect of his blood pressure medicine. As well as tribunal officials speaking on condition of anonymity suggested that the antibiotic was taken intentionally, smuggled in by visitors.

6. Glass from the head: Sarita Bista, a 12 year-old Nepalese girl has been emitting more than 130 transparent solid objects (like glass pieces) from her forehead since January 18, 2006.

7. Kids who snore regularly are nearly four times more likely to wet the bed than those who sleep silently. The possible explanation: people who snore produce more urine at night, while trying to breathe through obstructed airways may cause abdominal pressure that could also contribute to incontinence.

The pregnant man

Strange fibers in Morgallon’s disease

The 12-year-old Brooke Greenberg

On the right, an inking of a Naegeli syndrome patient, which shows an absence of fingerprint. On the left, a normal fingerprint. Courtesy of The American Journal of Human Genetics