4. Hypertrichosis
This is a condition which, as you can see above, causes the untameable growth of bodily hair across all kinds of bizarre and unusual parts of the human body to grow hair. Known by those perhaps less sensitive as ‘human werewolf syndrome’, sufferers of the hereditary affliction are few and far between- with only around 50 known cases in the world at present. Though respected with far more professional medical scrutiny nowadays, in the circus freak shows of the 18th and 19th centuries, it wasn’t uncommon to come across a sufferer of this most strange condition.
3. Trimethylaminuria
Trimethylaminuria, or ‘fish odor syndrome’ is an infrequent metabolic disorder that causes, through the deficiency of certain enzymes, its sufferers to emit excess levels of trimethylamine, in turn causing them to smell strongly of fish or, if you’re lucky, just really bad BO. It’s all very scientific (as illnesses tend to be) but this trimethylamine is an organic compound which is tackled by aforementioned enzymes during digestion. So, when the body is unable to break the trimethylamine down in the usual way, the compound is instead released in the urine, saliva and sweat of the person who has the deficiency- which, as you can imagine, makes for a rather inescapable and intense smell.
2. Foreign Accent Syndrome
Though probably one of the most utterly annoying things any one human being can do for no just cause, an unjustified change in accent can sometimes be attributed to a peculiar condition which is, apparently, completely legitimate. Usually brought on by some kind of brain trauma, such as a stroke or haemorrhage, there have been several cases throughout history which document a patient’s unaccountable change in spoken accent. As well as accents, there have even been reported cases which document a patient awaking from a coma following a head injury with a new found mastery of a completely foreign language. Weird.
1. Progeria
Perhaps the most tragic of the conditions covered in this list, Progeria causes the accelerated aging of those who suffer from it. Although it is rare (an estimated 1 out of every 8,000,000 people are born with the condition) it is none the less destructive- often killing sufferers before they reach their 20’s. The ailment is caused by a malformation in body cell nucleus’s which causes an untimely lapse in their ageing process. Effectively, Progeria causes a child to age at a sonic rate- falling victim to hair-loss, arthritis and failing eyesight often before they even reach their teens.
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