10 Diseases You Didn’t Know Existed

Most of us are fortunate enough to live healthy lives without having to worry about the perpetual symptoms of a debilitating disease. Even if you happen to suffer from a common disease, chances are you’ve encountered opportunities for treatment and peers that are enduring the same journey. But have you considered what it would be like to have overgrown fingers, or undeveloped facial nerves that hinder you from making facial expressions? How would you react to being just one of hundreds of people in the world with the same disease? Below are 10 diseases you didn’t know existed, but you’re lucky not to have.

• Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome (Ondine’s Curse)
  People who suffer from CCHS are unable to involuntarily breathe sufficiently during sleep. It’s acquired at birth or during severe trauma to the brain stem. In the most serious cases of the disease, people are unable to sleep because they would die. Typically, this occurs among newborns, but there have been cases where the disease progressed from minor to life-threatening – those people are required to use ventilators.



• Fields’ disease
  Just two people in the world suffer from Fields’ disease, making it the rarest in the world. It was discovered in four-year-old Welsh twins – Catherine and Kirstie Fields – who exhibited signs of progressive muscular deterioration. At the age of nine, they were unable to walk on their own and perform simple tasks like writing. During the process, their brains and personalities have remained normal. Because such a disease has never before been treated, doctors are unsure of what to expect in the future.



• Microcephaly
  Microcephaly sufferers have smaller-than-normal head circumferences because their brains either failed to develop properly or stopped growing. Typically, the condition starts in the womb during early fetal development and it’s caused by genetic abnormalities, foreign substances like radiation, or excessive exposure to drugs and alcohol. The disorder can result in severe mental retardation, or just minor disability.



• Kuru
  Kuru appeared in New Guinea during the 1950s, affecting the Fore people in the highlands. The cause of the disease was cannibalism; it was a tribal ritual to devour the tissues of dead relatives. Symptoms included tremors and slurred speech because the cerebellum was primarily affected. In its most severe stages, sufferers lost the ability to stand and eat on their own, became comatose, and died six month to a year after they were initially infected.



• Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria
  Roughly one in four million newborns suffer from Progeria, which is a genetic condition that causes rapid aging. As babies, they maintain a normal appearance, but as they grow older, they develop bulging eyes, protruding ears, small chins, thin noses and poor skin. Their arteries harden, increasing their chances of enduring a heart attack or stroke. People with Progeria typically live until their early-teens, though some can live until the age of 30.



• Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
  Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is the ossification of connective and muscle tissue, resulting in the loss of mobility. People with FOP often become unable to open their mouths, which hinders their ability to speak and eat independently. Further injuries to areas affected by FOP can cause more rapid ossification. FOP sufferers typically have deformed big toes, and sometimes uncharacteristically short thumbs. First signs of the condition occur during early childhood when it affects the shoulders and neck.



• Moebius Syndrome
  Nobody knows the exact cause of Moebius Syndrome; a disorder that inhibits movement of the facial muscles. Sufferers are unable to make facial expressions or control their eye movement and blinking. First symptoms are apparent after birth when the baby isn’t able to suck. Eventually, they experience problems feeding and swallowing. It’s estimated that roughly 30 to 40 percent of people with Moebius Syndrome have Autism.



• Proteus Syndrome
  The rare condition – just 50 cases worldwide – was named after the Greek god Proteus, who could change himself into any shape he desired. It’s characterized by atypical growth of bones and skin, resulting in an asymmetrical body. Gigantism of certain limbs and overgrown fingers are typically observed in sufferers. There are just more than 50 cases reported worldwide, and all of them have been isolated occurrences within different families.



• Porphyria
  Porphyria occurs when there’s an excess buildup of porphyrins in a person’s body caused by an inherited mutation. During attacks, sufferers endure cramping and abdominal pain, problems with the nervous system like seizures and personality changes, and blisters, swelling, and itching when their skin is exposed to sunlight. Visible scarring is common after the slow healing process of the skin. Another peculiar result of Porphyria is red or brown urine.



• Morgellons
  People who are diagnosed with Morgellons disease experience crawling and biting sensations under their skin, rashes and sores, severe itching, lesions and the presence of black, blue or red fibers on their skin. Additionally, they may suffer from short-term memory loss, severe fatigue and behavioral changes. Specifics about the disease are unknown. In fact, it isn’t widely recognized within the medical community, and research is just now being undertaken.

Filed under: Healthcare Administration

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