Buzz
It's intriguing that we categorize a disorder or disease as 'bizarre' simply because of its rarity. Some conditions may be visually more unsettling than others, yet in the end, it's the rare disorder that leaves us baffled. If disorders like a brain that suppresses fear or a stomach that produces beer were as common as the flu, perhaps they wouldn't raise such astonishment. For now, they remain some of the most perplexing ailments the human body can endure.
10. The Walking Dead Syndrome
Brain injuries, in any form, can easily lead to scenarios right out of science fiction or horror. One such condition, known as Walking Dead Syndrome (or 'Cotard Delusion,' named after the French physician Jules Cotard), causes sufferers to believe they have already died or are decaying. This delusion results from the degeneration of neuronal synapses, often linked to Alzheimer's, brain trauma, or various other disorders. The degeneration disrupts the neural connection between the brain's facial recognition and emotional centers. Some individuals afflicted with this delusion are so convinced of their death that they refuse to eat, ultimately starving themselves to death.
One of the most widely known recent cases involves a Scotsman, referred to as 'WI,' who sustained serious brain trauma in a motorcycle accident. After being given a clean bill of health and discharged from a hospital in Edinburgh, he traveled to South Africa for a vacation. By the time he arrived, he had convinced himself that he had died and ended up in hell. The intense heat of South Africa seemed to validate his belief.
WI was certain that he had died from either the brain injury, septicemia, or possibly AIDS—he considered the latter after reading an article on the disease just before his accident. He even believed that his mother, who was accompanying him on the trip, wasn't really with him. He thought she was still asleep in Scotland, and that he had stolen her soul to use as his means of traveling around hell.
9. Pediatric Myelofibrosis
This condition isn't particularly unusual, but it is incredibly rare. Myelofibrosis is a bone marrow disorder that affects thousands of adults, yet only 50 cases of its pediatric form have ever been recorded in history. The disease causes the bone marrow to produce an excess of fibrous connective tissue, which interferes with its ability to create blood cells. Symptoms include general and severe fatigue, heightened vulnerability to infections (often resulting in pneumonia), gout, difficulty breathing, easy bruising, an enlarged spleen, and persistent bone pain.
One of the rare individuals affected by this disease is 16-year-old Lukas Larsson from Colorado, who didn't inherit myelofibrosis but developed it around the age of 15. After a full year of being undiagnosed, Lukas now faces a life-threatening challenge: he must undergo a complete bone marrow transplant to survive. Without this transplant, myelofibrosis is nearly always fatal, requiring all the bone marrow in his body to be removed and replaced with marrow from donors.
8. Encephalotrigeminal Angiomatosis
This condition, also known as Sturge-Weber syndrome, is well understood by doctors in terms of its cause, but unfortunately, there is no way to prevent it. A gene mutation occurs in the womb, leading to the development of extra blood vessels just under the skin on one side of the face. The most common sign in newborns is a 'port wine' birthmark that appears across the forehead and one eye (reminiscent of Mikhail Gorbachev’s well-known birthmark, although he doesn't have this condition).
The additional blood vessels beneath the skin surround the trigeminal nerve, which is primarily responsible for headaches. Other symptoms include an overabundance of blood vessels in the brain’s inner lining, severe intellectual disabilities, and severe glaucoma in about half of cases. Glaucoma is caused by excessive pressure in the eyes, leading to blindness by squeezing the eyeball. In Sturge-Weber syndrome, this pressure can become so intense that it forces the eyeball out of the socket.
The surplus blood vessels over the brain cause widespread death of nerve cells in the cerebral cortex. This results in severe convulsions, which can cause the victim to 'jackknife'—bend sharply backward—posing a serious risk of damaging the spine and back muscles. The only way to treat these convulsions is through surgery to remove the affected brain regions.
7. Gut Fermentation Syndrome
At first glance, this may seem like a dream come true. Eat as much as you want, and the food itself will get you intoxicated—especially if you consume carbs in the same quantities as many of us do. But with extreme intoxication comes even worse hangovers. Add to that the frustration of everyone assuming you’ve been drinking and are lying about it, and you have the bizarre case of a 61-year-old man from Texas earlier this year. For five years, he experienced the effects of being drunk without touching a single drop of alcohol. Both he and his wife were perplexed and even resorted to buying their own home Breathalyzer test.
In September, he arrived at the emergency room with a blood alcohol level of 0.37, almost five times the legal limit for intoxication. He firmly claimed he was sober, and the doctors laughed it off, but still decided to monitor him closely. A full day later, despite having consumed no alcohol, he remained visibly drunk and disoriented.
The doctors soon discovered the cause. His stomach does not process the sugars in carbohydrates like most people’s. Instead, it ferments them. Excess yeast thrives on any starchy foods, turning the starch into ethanol before it is even digested by his stomach. With a balanced diet, a person could essentially remain intoxicated all the time without gaining weight from empty alcohol calories. However, alcohol’s impact on the liver would still be a significant issue.
Currently, 'auto-brewery syndrome' is so uncommon that the few studies published on it have to specifically ask that doctors take it seriously.
6. Microcephaly Capillary Malformation Syndrome
There are only 11 recorded instances of this condition. One of the individuals affected is Finn Straub from Connecticut, whose parents were told he wouldn’t survive past his first year. However, Finn celebrated his second birthday in September and remains alive—an almost miraculous outcome considering the severity of the disorder. If he continues to survive into his childhood or beyond, his cognitive abilities will likely never exceed an IQ of 30.
The term 'Microcephaly' refers to Finn’s brain and skull failing to fully develop before birth. 'Capillary malformation' describes his blood vessels, which have grown in excess and are positioned too close to the skin, leading to small 'port wine' birthmarks covering his entire body. While these capillary malformations themselves are not fatal, his underdeveloped brain causes various other challenges. For example, his heart struggles to transport fluid away from his chest cavity, and his weak body is barely capable of moving his head. He even lacks the energy to cry.
This condition is entirely genetic, yet it is so rare that it cannot be anticipated before conception.
5. Osteogenesis Imperfecta
You may recognize this disorder from the Shyamalan film *Unbreakable*, but it’s a very real condition that affects roughly one in every 20,000 people. In this condition, the body fails to produce enough or any functional collagen, resulting in bones that are extremely fragile. This is why the disorder is often called 'brittle bone disease.'
Samuel L. Jackson’s character in *Unbreakable* is diagnosed with Type 1 Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). In the film, he tells Bruce Willis’s character that there are four types of OI, and those with Type 4 'don’t last very long.' However, in reality, there are eight types of OI, and Type 2 is the most severe. Type 1 causes bones to form but break as easily as glass. Growth is stunted, and individuals rarely reach average height. A curved spine is common due to weak joint tissue, and hearing loss is frequent. Type 2 is even more severe, with most sufferers passing away within their first year of life.
Adults with Type 2 are incredibly rare, but all individuals with OI must exercise extreme caution in their daily activities. Ellen Dollar’s case is a prime example—she fractured over thirty bones before turning 12 and later had a daughter who inherited the condition. One day, her daughter attempted to hold a laptop with one hand, and the weight of it *snapped both of her forearm bones*.
4. Body Integrity Identity Disorder
Individuals suffering from this disorder have a persistent feeling that a certain body part does not belong to them and may seek its amputation. Unlike apotemnophilia, a sexual fetish in which someone fantasizes about being an amputee, Body Integrity Identity Disorder (BIID) is more comparable to gender identity disorder. It is also thought to be a psychosis related to a malfunction in the brain’s body mapping center. Located in the right parietal lobe, this area helps determine our boundaries of 'personal space,' and when something undesirable intrudes upon it, an alarm is triggered. For those with BIID, a body part, typically a limb, feels like an alien object that doesn’t belong in their space.
Most people affected by BIID don’t fully act on the delusion by having the body part amputated, and even fewer attempt the surgery themselves, as this would activate the brain’s fear centers, triggering a completely different response. However, such cases have occurred. In 2000, Scottish surgeon Dr. Robert Smith performed amputations on two individuals who threatened to remove their own legs. He justified his decision, claiming that refusing to fulfill their request would be a violation of the Hippocratic Oath.
3. Cushing’s Syndrome
The typical version of this syndrome is not particularly unusual. It occurs when steroid medications cause the adrenal glands to produce excessive amounts of corticosteroids, and the condition is often treated by gradually reducing the medication. The rarer form, however, is caused by an adrenal adenoma, a benign tumor on the adrenal gland, which is usually removed along with the gland itself. Thirty-eight-year-old Jordy Cernik had adenomas on both of his adrenal glands, requiring both to be removed. Here’s where things take a strange turn: after the surgery, Cernik no longer has the ability to feel fear, as he no longer produces adrenaline.
Fear can be either beneficial or harmful. It’s the rush you get on a roller coaster, the thrill of nearly dying, but it’s also the emotion you must suppress when confronted with a gun-wielding robber in order to stay calm. Cernik knows when fear should occur because he was once perfectly normal, but he cannot experience it. Someone with his condition might cooperate with a mugger or play dead in front of a bear, but they wouldn’t panic or act impulsively.
After his surgery, Cernik went skydiving, something he never would have dared before. As he climbed into the plane, he felt nothing. As he approached the door at 3,000 meters (10,000 ft), he still felt nothing. Even as he fell through the air, there was no sensation. His heart rate remained unchanged because adrenaline, which normally causes the heart rate to increase, is no longer produced in his body.
Sounds enticing, but every oddity comes with its own cost. Adrenaline, along with endorphins, is one of the two natural painkillers produced by the human body. Conditions like mild arthritis, which we usually ignore, cause Cernik persistent discomfort. “I’m always in pain,” he admits. But adrenaline does more than just dull the pain—those who have had their adrenal glands removed often face rapid and drastic weight gain.
2. Crimean-Congolese Hemorrhagic Fever
CCHF shares similar pathology to Ebola, but experts who have studied both viruses contend that CCHF is far worse. If treated, CCHF still boasts a shockingly high mortality rate of 30 percent. Like Ebola, CCHF kills by liquefying internal organs, but it progresses much faster. It destroys organs, particularly the liver, and this happens quicker than the immune system can respond.
The disease is transmitted by Hyalomma ticks. It’s the only viral disease on this list, and antibiotics are powerless against it. Flu-like symptoms typically begin within one to three days. If untreated, signs of external hemorrhaging appear within three to five days. Lesions inside the throat eventually burst, causing the risk of drowning in one's own blood. General confusion ensues, accompanied by bleeding from the nose, as well as from the vomit, urine, and feces.
As the body tries to clot blood everywhere at once, it depletes its platelets, leading to hemorrhages from the mouth, nose, eyes, ears, and even the skin’s pores. With proper care and a strong immune system, most individuals should survive, though noticeable recovery usually takes around a week and a half. During this time, it’s uncertain whether the person will recover or perish from internal decay. Of the 30 percent who die, organ failure typically leads to death within two weeks.
1. Cancer Of The Teeth
While pinpointing the rarest cancer is challenging, it might be malignant primary cardiac sarcoma, also known as heart cancer. Cancer could theoretically develop in any body part composed of living tissue, including red or white blood cells and brain neurons. Even teeth can develop cancer, since they have blood flow. However, this occurrence is so rare that it attracts worldwide medical attention, much like how the moon landing amazed the public.
Referred to as “gigantiform cementoma” in medical terms, tooth cancer begins as a tumor in the tooth and, if left untreated, spreads to dominate the entire face. Due to its rarity, it often goes unnoticed until it appears as a grotesque swelling around the mouth, typically in the chin, jaw, or cheek area.
The most infamous case is that of Novemthree Siahaan from Batam Island, Indonesia, who tragically passed away at the age of six. His family took him to Taiwanese doctors, the nearest specialists for this condition, where they immediately performed surgery to remove the tumors. These four tumors had spread from one tooth to the next, eventually infiltrating all the tissues and bones of his face. They grew so large that they completely blocked his vision in both eyes and sealed off his sinus cavities. The only way he could drink water was by looking straight up, allowing the fluid to flow down his throat naturally.
