Mystery disease causes 30-year-old man to appear 80

Source

When you look at Yuan Taiping, you may think you’re looking at an 80-year-old man, but the resident of southwest China’s Chongqing municipality is actually 30 years old.

Since Taiping was 21 years old, his body has been aging— except for his full head of black hair, Central European News (CEN) reported.

“When it began, my hands and feet started swelling, and then wrinkles appeared on my face,” he told CEN. “Now it’s just getting worse and worse every year. I also feel more fatigued as the years go on."

No doctor has been able to diagnoses his medical condition, but his brother, 25-year-old Yuan Taihua, and other villagers have reported similar symptoms.

According to CEN, medical experts hypothesize the illness could be acromegaly, in which the body produces excess growth hormone. More tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis.

“I am asking the public for help,” Taiping told CEN. “Please, somebody, help me find the root of my condition and teach me how to cure it.”

Now I have heard of aging diseases, but this one seems really odd to me, and the fact that it is happening to his brother and others in the surrounding area have me wondering what could be the cause. Environmental change of some sort? The article states it may be the over production of growth hormone, but unless they are in-breeding, I don't see how this could be affecting the surrounding areas....what a strange disease....

Also wondering if it may be due to the enormous amounts of medical waste being unsafely stored in the area he is from. I found this article from a while back talking about it.

Source

In November 2007, a farmer from Sichuan Province named Zhang Xiuqiong was arrested for illegally collecting hazardous medical waste. Chongqing environmental protection officials, who found 33.9 tons of medical waste inside a residential building, described the scene as "shocking." The facility was full of medical waste including blood transfusion bags that still contained blood. It took fifteen medical waste vehicles eight hours to clean up the site.[1] One year later, Zhang Xiuqiong was sentenced to three years in jail for illegally collecting medical waste.[2] This case was the first court sentence of such crime in China[3] and is an example of China's ongoing legal efforts towards improving proper disposal methods of medical waste. Following the arrest of Zhang Xiuqiong, six hospitals at Chongqing were fined at rates ranging from 20,000 RMB to 100,000 RMB though none of them were charged[4]

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Isn't it just a little too ironic that the guy has the word 'Younger' printed on his shirt?

I think so.

originally posted by: MysterX
a reply to: Vasa Croe

Isn't it just a little too ironic that the guy has the word 'Younger' printed on his shirt?

I think so.

It is, but it is spelled Youngor....it is a mens clothing brand in China. I would guess similar to Abercrombie, with their name all over everything.

Oddly enough, they were part of a report by Greenpeace call Dirty Laundry from 2011 because of their practice of dumping hazardous waste in the rivers there.

Source

In July 2011, Youngor - along with other major fashion and sportswear brands including Nike, Adidas and Abercrombie & Fitch - was the subject of a report by the environmental group Greenpeace entitled 'Dirty Laundry'. Youngor is accused of working with suppliers in China who, according the findings of the report, contribute to the pollution of the Yangtze and Pearl Rivers. Samples taken from one facility belonging to the Youngor Group located on the Yangtze River Delta and another belonging to the Well Dyeing Factory Ltd. located on a tributary of the Pearl River Delta revealed the presence of hazardous and persistent hormone disruptor chemicals, including alkylphenols, perfluorinated compounds and perfluorooctane sulfonate.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Well...if it transpires the genetic damage / disease this guy is apparently suffering from has any connection to the years of pollution being pumped into his environment by that clothing company printed on his shirt (and others)...that indeed would make that photograph the ultimate irony.

Either way..bad luck for him.

it's like the human 'pug' gene, no?

methinks part environment/toxins indeed would affect level of expression

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Looking at the guy, his hands look relatively normal. His face seems to be badly affected, perhaps the rest of him is normal for his age?

His condition reminds me of an allergic reaction actually...more like a purpura, like HSP.

HSP, (Henoch–Schönlein purpura) is a reaction to something one is allergic to, like certain drugs, commonly antibiotics, bee stings an the like.

I have personal experience with this, as a young family member developed this particular condition which caused his right hand and leg to literally balloon and swell up...it looked like the swelling on this guy.

It took the medical staff a while to diagnose the condition as it's not particularly common here in the UK, which is worrying in itself, as untreated it can cause kidney failure.

Wonder if this is what is causing his face to swell up so much?

a reply to: MysterX

Well..he says in the story it started with his hands and feet then spread to his face. That would make sense though, but it could still be from chemicals in toxic dumping areas I would guess.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

Yes, it started in the hands with us too, then quickly spread to his leg...hmmm, wonder if someone has suggested HSP to him as a possible cause?

If it is HSP speed of action is required in his case..if he doesn't get treated for it, he may either die of kidney failure or require dialysis later on...

Could still be the dumped chemical soup though, as i'd imagine HSP as nasty as it can be, is probably the least of the worry as far as their waters and what you can catch or develop from them are concerned.

originally posted by: Vasa Croe
Also wondering if it may be due to the enormous amounts of medical waste being unsafely stored in the area he is from...

Made me remember The Toxic Avenger.

a reply to: Vasa Croe

If we could get the Greenpeace sissies from getting out of the way, we could compete industrially with China and have this happening more often in the US too. Bunch of commielibs with their green this recycle that garbage. Think about all the corporate profits that could be generated here instead of we allowed rampant and complete pollution of the environment.
/sarc/

They are saying a possible excess of growth hormone. That doesn't sound right. His telomeres are shortening quickly meaning something in his environment or food is causing this. He would have looked extremely young for a long time then started to get old quickly. He does not appear to have been looking younger than his age before from seeing his license. Now there is chemistry that can disolve the telomeres, telomerase can do that if the levels are too high or if it cannot be broken down. Telomerase can both add or subtract the endcaps of the chromosomes. Now he could possibly bare stem cells to create new body tissue, that would take a peroxide to do. Hydrogen peroxide bares stem cells around a cut so they can form new cells to repair the cut quicker. Another way to heal would to use chitosan to stimulate healing. Now the diets from that area could contain chitosan and by hyoeractivating the system it could cause a lowering of telomeres. Bug shells contain chitosan too.

I can only throw out a couple of possibilities, I am sure the disease is probably real and if it has doctors stumped, that would be normal. I researched a lot on this subjects a while back and doctors do not have a lot of time, they have a lot of people over there that need tending. I may know some possibilities, but there are a lot of people who know more than I do on this subject, they just aren't there to help him.

Im sure there was a bunch of cases a while ago were people died of the same symptoms and the authorities traced it back to poisoning buy industrial rape seed oil. It had been mixed with olive oil and sold cheaply at a market as premium olive oil.

There was a pesticide released in California that turned out to cause what I think was early onset Alzheimer's... Those who were exposed to this chemical were getting Alzheimer's in their 20's. I forget the name of the pesticide, but it is now used as a mouse model for this neurodegenerative disorder (I am not certain it was Alzheimer's).

Regardless, my point is that there may be some sort of testing for a new chemical in some industrial or agricultural process that is having drastic side-effects.

A lot of vagueness in that post, but I think you get the point.

Yep i found it

Twenty years ago, the Spanish "cooking oil" disaster began as a mystery illness. Years later, the toll was put at more than 1,000 deaths and more than 25,000 seriously injured, many of whom were permanently disabled. It was the most devastating food poisoning in modern European history.

Toxic Oil Syndrome – Spain (1981)

Toxic-Oil-Syndrome–Spain-1981

In 1981, a disease known as “toxic oil syndrome” broke out in Spain that was caused by contaminated cooking oil. The consequences were serious, with the illness leading to the deaths of over 600 people. In response to the crisis, the Spanish government offered free olive oil in exchange for the hazardous oil.

The contamination is believed to have occurred when low-cost industrial colza oil from France was imported into the country. The colza oil was then refined and sold by street vendors as olive oil. Symptoms of the disease resembled a lung infection that weakened immune systems and was accompanied by skin problems. The condition was resistant to antibiotics, and there are numerous conspiracy theories associated with the case – all of which has added to its notoriety.

Gutter oil maybe?

originally posted by: MrMasterMinder
Yep i found it

Twenty years ago, the Spanish "cooking oil" disaster began as a mystery illness. Years later, the toll was put at more than 1,000 deaths and more than 25,000 seriously injured, many of whom were permanently disabled. It was the most devastating food poisoning in modern European history.

Toxic Oil Syndrome – Spain (1981)

Toxic-Oil-Syndrome–Spain-1981

In 1981, a disease known as “toxic oil syndrome” broke out in Spain that was caused by contaminated cooking oil. The consequences were serious, with the illness leading to the deaths of over 600 people. In response to the crisis, the Spanish government offered free olive oil in exchange for the hazardous oil.

The contamination is believed to have occurred when low-cost industrial colza oil from France was imported into the country. The colza oil was then refined and sold by street vendors as olive oil. Symptoms of the disease resembled a lung infection that weakened immune systems and was accompanied by skin problems. The condition was resistant to antibiotics, and there are numerous conspiracy theories associated with the case – all of which has added to its notoriety.

Gutter oil maybe?

Ugh...I have read about gutter oil before and I may never eat street vendor food again....