1 - Walking Corpse Syndrome
Sufferers of walking corpse syndrome, also known as the Cotard delusion, believe that they are dead, decaying or have lost body parts or internal
organs. In some cases, victims believe that they don't even exist.
Walking corpse syndrome is typically the result of brain damage or mental illness.
2 - Pica syndrome sufferers eat non-foods
Pica is a very strange and rare psychological disorder that causes an appetite for soil, coal, paper, or other traditionally non-food items.
There is no concrete cause, but pica is believed by many to result from a mineral deficiency, and as such, it's found most frequently in pregnant
women and children in lower-income areas.
3 - Werewolf Syndrome
Hypertrichosis, or werewolf syndrome, is a medical condition that causes the excessive growth of body hair -- typically on the upper body, including
the face.
There are only 50 or so documented cases, and sufferers generally acquire it through genetic inheritance. In 2008, scientists at Columbia University
found that an injection of testosterone significantly helped in long-term hair loss in patients with hypertrichosis; the finding was hailed by many as
a cure.
4 - Water Allergy
Aquagenic pruritus is a skin disease characterized by the development of severe, intense, prickling-like epidermal itching that is without observable
skin lesions and that is evoked by contact with water.
Symptoms may be felt immediately after contact with water or humid air and can persist for an hour or longer. Other triggers may be sweat, blowing
air, temperature differences, changing clothes, contact with synthetic fibers, and lying down to try to sleep. This condition may persist for years.
5 - 300 Orgasms a Day Syndrome
Persistent genital arousal disorder also known as persistent sexual arousal syndrome or PSAS, results in a spontaneous and persistent genital arousal,
with or without orgasm or genital engorgement, unrelated to any feelings of sexual desire.
6 - Foreign Accent Syndrome
Foreign accent syndrome (FAS) is a speech disorder that causes sudden changes in speech pattern, intonation and pronunciation so that the victim is
perceived to speak with a "foreign" accent. FAS usually results from severe trauma to the brain, such as a stroke or head injury, and typically
develops within one or two years of the injury. Of the 50 to 60 cases that have been verified since 1941, only a few FAS sufferers regained their
normal speech pattern, although some experienced success through speech therapy.
7 - Sleep sex
Sexsomnia is a sleep disorder that, much like sleepwalking, compels the sufferer to engage in sexual activity while asleep. Identified in 2003,
sexsomnia has since been cited to acquit defendants accused of sexual assault in British and Canadian criminal cases.
8 - Congenital insensitivity to pain
Chronic condition with inability to feel physical pain. Other sensation is otherwise normal.
Typically due to the mutation of a gene associated with the transmission of pain in the body. As such, they are more susceptible to death by trauma,
since they might not be aware of the extent of damage done to their own bodies. There have been around 100 cases documented in the US.s.
9 - Alien Hand Syndrome
Also known as Dr. Strangelove syndrome and "anarchic hand," AIS is a neurological disorder that makes the victim feel like he has lost control of
one of his hands. In extreme cases, sufferers have been reported to engage in violent wrestling with their own hand, with the appendages even trying
to strangle the patient while sleeping. Alien hand syndrome is caused by trauma to the brain -- such as a stroke, aneurysm or head injury -- and the
symptoms can be treated, although the condition itself has no cure.
10 - Exploding Head Syndrome
People with exploding head syndrome intermittently hear loud, explosion-like noises that seem to originate from within their own head. The
"explosions" usually occur within an hour or two hours of the victim falling asleep. There's no physical pain, but sufferers understandably
experience fear and anxiety after such attacks. While it's not clear what exactly causes the syndrome, it's been linked to stress and fatigue and
often vanishes without any treatment
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[edit on 11-9-2009 by phi1618]
[edit on 11-9-2009 by phi1618]
