Human Diseases Fact Sheet: 24 Facts

Malaria was once used to treat syphilis. Dr. Wagner von Jauregg injected sufferers with malaria-infected blood, causing an extremely high fever that would ultimately kill the disease. Jauregg won the Nobel Prize for the treatment and it remained in use until the development of penicillin.

Rosacea is a skin disease found mainly in those of Northern European descent and also known as The Curse of the Celts. It is actually an evolutionary adaptation acquired by ancestral Celtic people to fend off bacteria during seasonal periods of low ultraviolet levels.

Fatal Familial Insomnia is an inherited brain disease that eventually causes one to be incapable of sleep. It has no known cure. It involves progressively worsening insomnia, which leads to hallucinations, confusional states like that of dementia, and eventually death.

Alzheimer's disease does not affect emotional memory as strongly as informational memory. As a result, Alzheimer's patient's given bad news will quickly forget the news, but will remain sad and have no idea why.

Measles can wipe out the body's immune system "memory" of other diseases for years.

Schizophrenia can be diagnosed with 98.3% accuracy using a simple eye test that tracks eye movement abnormalities.

Porphyria is a collection of diseases where symptoms include severe sun sensitivity, prominent canine teeth, and peculiar behaviors which are thought to be the basis of the vampire legends – especially as these symptoms are worsened by garlic.

Acne is the 8th-most common disease in the world. It was described in Pharaohs over 2,000 years ago. It does not affect other primates, but some cats and dogs and horses can be affected by acne.

”Musicogenic Epilepsy” is a rare disease that makes you have a seizure whenever you hear your favorite music.

Asthma is the most common chronic disease affecting Olympic athletes. 8% of them suffers from the condition.