There are quite a few mysterious medical conditions that confuse medical experts out of their wits’ end. We shall have a look at some of these unexplained medical conditions by going through the following article.
Over the past century, medical science has advanced by leaps and bounds. With the discovery of DNA, the genetic code of all organisms, it has become very easy to know the causes, symptoms as well as possible treatments for many diseases as well as disorders. The diagnostic as well as imaging technologies too have become advanced and one can look at the basic structures of the bones, tissues as well as nerves running deep within our body. Yet, there are many mysterious medical conditions that continue to baffle medical experts. Let us have a look at some of the strange medical conditions affecting a few people around the world.
Unexplained Medical Conditions
Mysterious medical conditions are those that affect a few people worldwide. These strange conditions are idiopathic in nature, i.e., the cause is unknown. However, in some cases, the doctors have found out what causes these medical conditions. These conditions are so rare that majority of the doctors are unaware that they do exist. Thus, they come under an unexplained medical condition. Let us have a look at some of these medical mysteries.
Hyperthymestic Syndrome
Hyperthymestic syndrome, also called hyperthymesia, is a unique condition that affects the memory. No, it does not make the person forgetful, but instead gives them an autobiographical memory power. And what do I mean by autobiographic memory? It means that the person can remember each and every event they have personally experienced. Like you can ask them about a particular date, where they were, what were they were wearing, how was the weather, who all did they meet, what were the people whom they met that day wearing, etc. They do not follow calendar calculators, but refer to their own mental calendar.
Music Induced Seizures
One of the very, very mysterious medical conditions is music induced seizures. Also called musicogenic seizures, music induces reflex epilepsy. Certain types of music or sound frequencies tend to have low tolerance in the person’s brain. When the person hears a song or sound or music at this pitch or frequency, it triggers the focal epileptiform EEG discharges in the brain. Thus, the person suffers from seizures as well as tonic-clonic seizures.
Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy
This is a strange medical condition that causes inhibition of any kind of sensation in the affected person. The person feels no pain whatsoever, thus making it one of the most dangerous conditions. The person does not realize he/she is hurt, bleeding or burning. Therefore, corrective measures or treatment cannot be taken on time.
Apotemnophilia
Apotemnophilia is a neurological disorder that affects otherwise normal and rational individuals. These people tend to get a feeling, no not just a feeling, but a very, very strong desire to amputate their healthy limb(s). In some serious cases, the person is not content with their body parts and just wants to remove the otherwise healthy limb. Due to this, they visit surgeons and request them to carry out a medical amputation. The cause for this strange desire is not known and may be linked to abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex.
Alien Hand Syndrome
Also called Dr. Strangelove syndrome or anarchic hand, alien hand syndrome is also a neurological disorder. This is a condition that causes the affected person’s hand to do what it pleases. It causes them to feel that they have lost control over their hand. It begins to act autonomously and involuntarily. This ‘alien’ behavior at times occurs without the sufferer being aware of what is happening. The hand will move, jerk or carry out some ‘out of the ordinary’ action. The ‘rogue’ hand may even try to strangle the sufferer himself in sleep.
Capgras Syndrome
The Capgras syndrome is a disorder that causes the sufferer to think that a close friend, spouse, parent or some other family member has changed. And by change I mean, the original person has been replaced by an identical looking imposter. This delusion is seen in people who have suffered from brain injury, dementia or schizophrenia.
Fatal Familial Insomnia
A very rare autosomal dominant inherited disease of the brain is fatal familial insomnia. This disease is caused by a mutation of the protein PrPC. The disease often occurs in people in the age group of 35 to 60 years. The person starts suffering from insomnia, paranoia, phobias, hallucinations, dementia and complete inability to sleep. About 7 to 36 months after onset, the disease proves to be fatal.
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome
Alice is Wonderland syndrome is a very rare condition. In this case, the perception power of the person is affected. The sufferer begins to experience micropsia or macropsia. This is a size distortion where the sufferer begins to see objects larger than they are or smaller than they actually appear. They may find buildings appear miniature in size and an ant appear like a gigantic monster to them. They begin to misinterpret things and some suffer from intense hallucinations.
Morgellons Disease
The Morgellons disease is a condition where a person believes there are fibers embedded in their skin. They feel as if there are insects crawling underneath their skin, biting them or stinging them. These may lead them to cause spontaneous or self-inflicted skin lesions. These people suffer from a lot of pain and discomfort due to the symptoms manifested by the disease.
Moebius Syndrome
The Moebius or Möbius syndrome is a neurological disorder. This is an extremely rare neurological condition where a person is born with facial paralysis. The person cannot close the eyes, or express any kind of facial expression. These people are often considered as dull or unfriendly souls. But, in majority of the cases, these people are just as friendly as any other person. Their expressionless face tends to make them appear strange.
These were some of the mysterious medical conditions. Although, someone somewhere may have described them in some medical journal, not many people are aware of them. They affect very few people around the world and the cases are scattered over a long time frame. Thus, medical experts do not have many subjects to study and find cure for these conditions.
