# The strangest medical conditions. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 27, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495 "2013-01-27T00:57:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Bith\_Shuffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bith_Shuffle)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/1 "2013-01-27T00:57:38Z")
I recently read about [Fetus in Fetu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetus_in_fetu), which just struck me as sooo weird. What are some of the weirdest medical conditions of any sort? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/2 "2013-01-27T01:07:12Z")
[Teratoma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratoma)s in general, which Fetus in Fetu might be. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/3 "2013-01-27T01:10:39Z")
[Progeria](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57520141-10391704/first-treatment-for-accelerated-aging-disease-progeria-has-promising-results/). Otherwise known as “accelerated aging disease”. Wow. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/4 "2013-01-27T01:23:00Z")
I recall a dying girl whom I read about, who had a rare genetic condition where the muscles in half of her body were slowly turning to bone. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/5 "2013-01-27T01:25:19Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I recall a dying girl whom I read about, who had a rare genetic condition where the muscles in half of her body were slowly turning to bone. I’d really like to see a cite for that. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/6 "2013-01-27T01:27:41Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’d really like to see a cite for that. [No problem.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibrodysplasia_ossificans_progressiva) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/7 "2013-01-27T01:32:45Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > [No problem.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibrodysplasia_ossificans_progressiva) Yikes! :eek: I’d say we got a thread winner. So far, at least… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/8 "2013-01-27T02:43:53Z")
[Lithopedion](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithopedion). Calcified fetus. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/9 "2013-01-27T03:01:05Z")
[Michelin Tire Baby Syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_tire_baby_syndrome), sort of a human Shar-Pei equivalent (there can be other associated abnormalities beside the exaggerated skin folds). ---
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/10 "2013-01-27T03:57:36Z")
[Epidermodysplasia verruciformis](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidermodysplasia_verruciformis) Pics here (Tree Man): [The Human Tree man \*Warning Graphic\* (13 photos) :](http://thechive.com/2009/12/18/the-human-tree-man-warning-graphic-13-photos/) ---
**Author:** ![Snerky\_Snerk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Snerky\_Snerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snerky_Snerk)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/11 "2013-01-27T04:13:33Z")
[Craniopagus parasiticus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craniopagus_parasiticus) > [@](#): > > In craniopagus parasiticus a parasitic twin head with an undeveloped (or underdeveloped) body is attached to the head of a developed twin. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/12 "2013-01-27T05:55:54Z")
[Harlequin ichthyosis.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin-type_ichthyosis) Fairly not-gruesome illustration in the wikipedia article, but Google Image search for the strong-of-stomach only. Severe/fatal cases are pretty, um, severe. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Small\_Hen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@Small\_Hen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Small_Hen)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/13 "2013-01-27T14:17:52Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > [Michelin Tire Baby Syndrome](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelin_tire_baby_syndrome), sort of a human Shar-Pei equivalent (there can be other associated abnormalities beside the exaggerated skin folds). Was that really the most sensitive name they could come up with for a congenital disorder? Seriously? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/14 "2013-01-27T14:33:10Z")
My vote is for _fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva_, already mentioned in posts 4-7. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/15 "2013-01-27T14:42:07Z")
My mother worked at a middle school, that had a student once with a severe form of [Ondine’s curse.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ondine's_curse) Breathing was not autonomic for him - he could\* forget to breathe\*. He had to wear a respirator at night, and his teachers were warned to wake him immediately if it looked like he was falling asleep in class. Or focusing too hard on his work and starting to turn blue. Not an easy life for this kid, who was otherwise pretty normal and healthy. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/16 "2013-01-27T16:26:46Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > [Progeria](http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57520141-10391704/first-treatment-for-accelerated-aging-disease-progeria-has-promising-results/). Otherwise known as “accelerated aging disease”. Wow. :eek: Or, the “reverse,” known only in one or maybe three people, so it doesn’t have a name yet… Brooke Greenberg doesn’t mature. [She’s 20 years old and looks (and acts) like a toddler](http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/01/23/can-booke-greenberg-unlock-fabled-fountain-youth). She’s “aging” in that her telomeres are shortening as normal, but she doesn’t grow and doesn’t change, physically, neurologically or behaviorally. [Her \*younger \*sister is holding her in this picture](http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/Americas/2009/June/Unique-Case-of-Teenage-Toddler-Leaves-Doctors-Puzzled-.html). The strangest thing about her medical condition is that she doesn’t seem to have one. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/17 "2013-01-27T18:44:53Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > [No problem.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibrodysplasia_ossificans_progressiva) > [@](#): > > by the time of his death from pneumonia in November 1973, six days before his 40th birthday, his body had completely ossified, leaving him able to move only his lips. Well, I really hope I forget that I read this the next time my brain decides I need a nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/18 "2013-01-27T21:34:30Z")
The Tree man (graphic photos but nothing that would make most people faint): [The Human Tree man \*Warning Graphic\* (13 photos) :](http://thechive.com/2009/12/18/the-human-tree-man-warning-graphic-13-photos/) ---
**Author:** ![applebetty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@applebetty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/applebetty)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/19 "2013-01-28T02:08:33Z")
Neural tube defects like [Cyclops](http://www.google.com/search?q=cyclop+baby&hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1C1ASUT_enUS455US455&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=HtsFUcaCD-euyQGI-IHICA&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=896&bih=512) or [Anencephaly](http://www.google.com/search?q=Anencephaly&hl=en&tbo=d&rlz=1C1ASUT_enUS455US455&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=E90FUfWCG4PEyQGOwoHoDQ&ved=0CAoQ_AUoAA&biw=896&bih=512). ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495/20 "2013-01-28T03:40:32Z")
I’ll add [Fatal Familial Insomnia to the list](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatal_familial_insomnia). Dominant gene that manifests between about 30 and about 60. The patient stops being able to sleep, then goes insane from lack of sleep, then dies. Oh, and BTW, the age of onset gives the future patient plenty of time to have children before finding out that oops, they inherited the gene. Additionally, in women, childbirth can trigger onset. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-strangest-medical-conditions/648495.md?page=2)