Methemoglobinemia: The Condition that Plagued the 'Blue-Skinned People' and 5 Other Strange, Rare Diseases

Recently, the fascinating story of the Fudgates, the 'blue-skinned' family that lived in the Kentucky hills of Troublesome Creek in the 1950s, was revisited by a the medical community. The family was afflicted by a strange condition called methemoglobinemia, which left thein skin permanently blue, and passed it on down several generations. The disease is very rare, and is among other strange medical conditions,from extremely large limbs to eccelarated aging.

Progenia is a rare condition that leaves it's victims with symptoms associated with aging at a very young age, causing incredibly rapid aging and death usually before the teen years. Patients typically have wrinkled skin and hair loss, extreme short stature, a disproportionally large head for their face, bulging scalp veins, low body weigh, very high-pitched voice and the absence of any sexual maturation. The disease is named "progeria" because it means "prematurely old" in Greek. It also known as Hutchison-Gilford Progeria syndrome, after Dr. Jonathan Hutchinson and Dr. Hastings Gilford, who first documented it in 1886.

Elephantiasis, or Lympatic Filariasis, causes skin to thicken in certain parts of the body, usually in the lower half of the body, and to swell to large abnormal sizes, sometimes up to the size of a basketball. It is caused by microscopic, parasitic worms which inhabit the lymphatic system and are transmitted by mosquitoes. The disease is most prevalent in topical regions in Africa. Treatment includes albendazole, a drug used to eradicate worm infestations, and frequent, thorough washing of the affected area, which can help to manage the condition. However, a vaccine has not yet been fully developed to prevent the disease.

Stendhal syndrome, also called Florence syndrome (after the Italian city) is a condition associated with a severe negative, sometimes life threatening bodily reaction when viewing very beautiful art. It is labeled as a psychosomatic sickness, with symptoms like dangerously rapid heartbeat, fainting spells, confusion and hallucinations while patients are viewing particularly beautiful art, or overwhelmed with to much art in one setting, whether man made or in the natural world.
According to an article released this month by UK's The Telegraph, Scientists have recently been investigating the phenomenon, which is linked to 19th century French author Stendhal, who wrote about his frequent severe heart palpitations, even falling to the ground. after being overwhelmed by the Renaissance masterpieces he viewed during a trip to Florence in 1817.

Children chewing on paper, chalk and other inedible objects are rarely seen as a phenomenon. However, those afflicted with Pica Syndrome have an unusually voracious appetite for non-nutritive substances like clay or chalk. The syndrome is separated from normal behavior in that those with Pica continue to consume inedible objects way past an age where it is developmentally appropriate, and also do so obsessively. It is believed to be caused by iron deficiency in the body , chemical imbalance, or cultural and psychological stressers like parental neglect and family issues. Often eating inedible objects like mud is viewed as culturally acceptable, and frequently seen temporarily with cravings by pregnant women. However, serious cases of Pica are linked to mental disability and poisoning of body systems.

Cortard's syndrome, also known as "Walking Corpse" Syndrome, is a very rare neuropsychiatric condition where patients believe that they literally do not exist and are in fact dead. It was first discovered by French neurologist Jules Cotard, in 1882.
The condition can be caused by severe depression and brain damage. According to 'The Body Odd,' MSNBC's news program on medical curiosities, the disease is closely linked to Capgras delusion, in which there is a disconnect in the pat of the brain that recognized faces and causes patients to believe that the people they know are in fact imposters. However, in Cortad's syndrome, patients do not recognize their own faces, and so believe that they are in fact dead.