The Human Marvels: Vindicating those once labeled as freaks.

3/13/2007

Bizarre Skin Condition in Eastern Europe

I am currently pouring over my old medical journals and papers in an attempt to diagnose this disorder, brought to my attention by the folks over at Neatorama. Does anyone have an idea what this is?

A friend of mine has a relative who is a missionary in Eastern Europe. He recently shared photographs and the story of a man he is caring for, who has an extremely bizarre skin condition. The man has keratin-like matter growing out of the skin on hands and feet, which started when he was young, and very slowly continues to spread and grow. The areas begin as skin lesions, and the matter sprouts from those spots. The growths are very difficult to remove, and the man has so far just had to learn to live with it. There are a few medical precedents to this man's case, but nothing is certain until more tests are done. In the meantime, the missionary is helping to make life easier for the man.

Read the full story here.

UPDATED: CLICK HERE

Labels: deformity, disfigured, medical

Written by J. Tithonus Pednaud
Link to this Human Marvels article

8 comments

8 Comments:

Drew said...

As you probably saw in the original article, it's widely being thought that this is some variant of Shopes Papillomavirus which is the source of the "jackalope" stories in rabbits. It sure does look like something similar.

It's definitely a fascinating story! Hope that more updates come with this. I think it's odd that a lot of details are left vague though (such as location).

1:42 PM

Judy said...

Looks like hyperkeratosis, which is common enough in dogs. They get it on noses and paw pads. Zinc supplements occasionally help.Can also be due to autoimmune disease. Never seen anything like it in humans!

6:05 PM

Orun said...

Drew is correct, this is one of the (over 200) variations of the Human Papillomavirus or HPV.

This DNA based virus comes in many forms and often causes skin cancer, the form depicted in the photograph is clearly a rare one, similar to the Shopes variant found in rabbits as Drew suggested.

1:37 AM

Sukie said...

Although they are usually smaller another possibility if the person had been a miner or glass worker might be Arsenical Keratosis

4:14 PM

Anonymous said...

The originating blog has some follow up. It's Lewandowsky-Lutz, caused by a virus. Romanian t.v. reports show that he has has many of the growths removed and a skin graft on one of his hands.

12:19 AM

Anonymous said...

2 more people with that sindrome pictured on this blog: http://marcianitosverdes.haaan.com/category/forteanismo/page/5/ and here one more person: http://www.maurollo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/uomoalbero.jpg

It's papillomavirus that causes Lewandowsky-Lutz syndrome.
It's pretty rare one (syndrome). Probably some genetical mutation is needed to be vulnerable.

5:10 PM

John said...

Hi there Search Half man Half Tree

some man in Indonesia has a almost identical thing,

and not sure but( doing this from memory from the TV show on it)

it had to do with the immune system and a very aggressive form of warts? maybe. best of luck

7:34 PM

Lindsay said...

Hey, I think that Drew and Orun are correct; it looks like an advanced case of HPV combined with some form of immunity problem. I believe that dermatologists treat the condition with a high daily dose of vitamin A.

11:51 PM