35 Interesting Facts About Rare Disorders

A woman was sentenced to life in prison for poisoning her child to death with antifreeze. She gave birth to a second child while in prison, who was given to foster care. But he became sick with the same symptoms, indicating a genetic metabolic disorder, not poisoning. She was later released.

2. Higher intelligence is linked with higher rates of mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, causing the "mad scientist" stereotype to have ground in reality.

3. Alien hand syndrome is a rare neurological disorder in which one hand functions involuntarily, with the victim completely unaware of its actions.

4. A German woman named “B.T” suffered an accident at the age of 20 that left her blind and also have Dissociative Identity Disorder (Multiple Personalities). One of her personalities was a teenage boy, who could see.

5. In 2007, Quality Pork Processing, a Hormel supplier, had an outbreak of a rare neurological disorder to workers in and around the brain machine. None have fully recovered.

When you play a game too long, you start to dream about it and hallucinate about it on the edges of your vision is called Tetris Syndrome.

7. It is possible to only have high blood pressure in the doctor's office and it is called "White Coat Syndrome".

8. There is a man named Matthew Hogg who, due to an Auto-Brewery syndrome, will get drunk from eating bread.

9. Mean World Syndrome is a phenomenon whereby the violence-related content of mass media makes viewers believe that the world is more dangerous than it actually is.

10. A tiny (1sq. cm) transparent Australian jellyfish named Irukandji jellyfish has venom delivering tentacles a meter long, and whose sting causes Irukandji syndrome, which induces feelings of impending doom, severe pain, and cardiac arrest.

The “friendliness” gene mutation that distinguishes dogs from wolves causes Williams syndrome in humans, which causes hypersociality and reduced intelligence.

12. Richard Marsh is a rare survivor of locked-in syndrome, a condition where a patient can only move his or her eye muscles. During his coma, Richard watched his wife beg doctors not to take him off of life support and witnessed his own rough handling by the nighttime staff.

13. 68% of people in one study experienced "phantom vibration syndrome". It is a sensory hallucination where you mistakenly think your phone is buzzing.

14. Prader Willi syndrome leads to a feeling of constant insatiable hunger 24x7 throughout the patient's life.

15. Valery Spiridonov is a man who suffers from Werdnig-Hoffman's, a muscle-wasting disease which has left him in a wheelchair. He has volunteered to partake in the world's first head transplant which will take place as early as December of 2017.

There is a disease named Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva that makes the body repair injuries using bone. Over the course of many years, this leads to the victim becoming more and more like a statue.

17. After needing 13 liters of blood for a surgery at the age of 13, a man named James Harrison pledged to donate blood once he turned 18. It was discovered that his blood contained a rare antigen which cured Rhesus disease. He has donated blood a record 1,000 times and saved 2,000,000 lives.

18. There is a disease named Fatal Familial Insomnia that takes away your ability to sleep. You sink into horrible psychosis and inevitably die over the course of a few months. There is no cure and there are no viable treatments.

19. Moon dust is soft like snow, but very abrasive in that it cut through 3 layers of Kevlar in Apollo astronauts’ space suits. It is equally harmful to humans and can cause a disease called Moon Hay Fever.

20. After hitting his head in the shallow end of a swimming pool, a man named Derek Amato awoke with the condition known as acquired musical savant syndrome. He then became a great pianist without ever learning to play.

There is a condition named Exploding Head Syndrome in which you think you hear a loud bang as you fall asleep when none exists.

22. There is one person in the world named Brooke Greenberg with "Syndrome X" which prevents normal aging. Brooke Greenberg is 20 and appears to be one year old.

23. There is a syndrome called the Capgras Delusion, where if you suffer from it you may think your friends, family, and even your pets have been replaced by impostors.

24. There is a rare sleeping disorder called Kleine–Levin syndrome that causes people to sleep for weeks at a time waking only to eat or go to the bathroom.

25. There is a disease called "Skinny Pants Syndrome," wherein damage is caused to one's legs from their pants being too tight.