Crazy Diseases

Find out about these crazy diseases
If mainstream media has made one thing clear, it’s that we the people crave the bizarre. And sometimes, the bizarre is beyond what anyone could have imagined. Such is the case with certain rare and crazy diseases -- disorders that seem to defy reality. Unfortunately for the many sufferers out there, some diseases, however crazy they may be, are very real -- and equally as frightening. Here are just a few crazy diseases to whet your appetite for the bizarre.

Polyglandular Addison’s disease

Type of Disease: Hormonal disorder
Crazy Because: Can cause instantaneous death from sudden emotional distress
Cure: None, but manageable by medication

In February 2008, media reports swirled around the story of Jennifer Lloyd, a 10-year-old from Prestwich, who is one of only six known sufferers in the U.K. of polyglandular Addison’s disease. Addison’s disease is a hormonal disorder named after Dr. Thomas Addison who first described the disease in 1855. The polyglandular form is much rarer than the ordinary disorder, leaving affected patients literally unable to produce adrenaline in response to stress. Adrenaline, or epinephrine, is the “fight or flight” hormone that prepares the body for action. Without adrenaline, the body’s organs cannot respond to stress and instead go into shock and shut down, leaving those affected critically ill. Patients such as Jennifer require constant attention and steroidal medication just to live out their daily lives: "Something as simple as walking the dog can be a worry,” Jennifer’s mother told the BBC. In Jennifer’s case, even watching a movie, playing sports or dancing requires strict supervision in case she becomes overly excited. Despite the mundane outlook for Jennifer and other patients with this crazy disease, most can lead normal lives with the help of medication.

Reflex sympathetic dystrophy

Type of Disease: Nerve disorder
Crazy Because: Causes searing pain as if on fire
Cure: Complex; disease may spontaneously resolve, but treatment usually only lessens symptoms

Imagine being tormented every waking moment of every day by searing pain in your limbs. Your arms feel like they are on fire, they are swollen, hot to the touch, and you sweat excessively. These are just a few of the symptoms of reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), a poorly understood disorder defined by pain in the limbs that is way out of proportion from what is expected following a particular injury or harmful event, such as surgery or stroke. The disease is believed to be caused by an abnormal chain reaction of the sympathetic nervous system, the body system that regulates blood flow and other aspects of the skin. Experts liken the pain response to that of an engine revving out of control.

While the disease may spontaneously disappear on its own, many patients undergo intensive treatments for years just to lessen the pain. And for some patients, the pain can become so profound that they must undergo the most extreme and expensive of therapies -- being placed under a Ketamine coma -- to essentially reset the pain connections of the body. In 2003, under the guidance of German colleagues of renowned RSD specialist Dr. Robert Schwartzman, 14-year-old Lindsay Wurtenberg of the U.S. underwent Ketamine coma-therapy and successfully recovered from a particularly debilitating case of RSD that developed following a harmless spider bite. “I don’t think there is a worse pain problem,” said Dr. Schwartzman of Lindsay’s condition. He was probably right.

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