| 27th February 2006 03:54 PM |
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| voodoopug |
Please state if you have any of these disorders:
Strange afflictions
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February 9, 2006
Capgras Syndrome leads sufferers to believe a significant other, such as a parent, spouse or other relative, is being impersonated by an imposter.
Capgras Syndrome leads sufferers to believe a significant other, such as a parent, spouse or other relative, is being impersonated by an imposter.
Picture: Greg Bakes
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Ever felt the urge to eat dirt or attack the alien impersonating your brother? Megan Gressor can explain why.
From excess digits to errant hands, extreme hairiness to disappearing penises, there is no end of strange ailments afflicting humanity. Some are serious, others are downright bizarre. Here are some fascinating, odd and mercifully rare conditions that can affect our bodies and brains:
ALICE IN WONDERLAND SYNDROME
Also called micropsia, this condition distorts visual perception so that objects that are close appear disproportionately tiny, as though viewed through the wrong end of a telescope. It owes its name to Lewis Carroll's fictional protagonist, Alice, who perceived things as too small or too big after taking magical medicines. Usually temporary in nature, the syndrome is associated with migraines. Carroll suffered migraines, so perhaps he was describing his own experiences.
PICA
This is a compulsive appetite for non-edible items, including clay, stones, cigarette ash, paint, glue, laundry starch, ice and even hair. Found among pregnant women and young children, particularly in poorer areas, it's thought to relate to nutritional deficiencies and may be treated with mineral supplements. However, that's just one of many theories about pica, whose precise causes are unknown. It's also found among brain damaged or mentally ill people, among whom it can take particularly dangerous turns including swallowing sharp objects (known as acuphagia). Undigested items can also form bezoars - calcified "stones" - in the stomach.
FOREIGN ACCENT SYNDROME
Imagine suddenly putting on a convincing French accent. Or Scottish. Or Italian. It sounds like fun, but it's no joke for the victims of Foreign Accent Syndrome, which can set in after strokes or other brain trauma. Without warning, they'll start speaking their native tongue with a different accent, which could sound anything from Swedish to South African. Victims need never have heard the accent in question, according to Oxford University researchers Dr Jennifer Gurd and Dr John Coleman, who believe it arises from damage to areas of the brain responsible for language production, altering pitch, pronunciation and speech patterns. So people with the syndrome aren't putting on a foreign accent, it just sounds that way.
ONDINE'S CURSE
A wonderful name for a nasty problem, this is a sleep disorder resulting from a malfunctioning autonomic nervous system. Its victims are unable to breathe spontaneously but must consciously will each breath, so will suffocate if they fall asleep. Respirators may help. Also known as congenital central alveolar hypoventilation syndrome, Ondine's Curse derives its name from the legend of a water nymph, Ondine, who fell in love with a human, thereby forfeiting her immortality. Though he had pledged his undying love, Ondine discovered him snoring in the arms of another woman. She cursed him, declaring that as he had pledged his love with every waking breath, he would die the moment he fell asleep.
ALIEN HAND SYNDROME
Another condition arising from brain trauma, this bizarre syndrome involves losing control of one hand, which can do anything from gesticulating to unbuttoning clothes its owner is trying to put on with his or her other hand. The condition is also called Dr Strangelove Syndrome, thanks to Peter Sellers' inspired performance as Dr Strangelove in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film. Sellers's mechanical hand alternated between throttling himself and throwing Nazi salutes. While victims can still experience sensation in the affected hand, they say it seems to have a mind of its own. The only solution is to keep it busy, for example by holding onto something - just not, hopefully, your own throat.
POLYDACTYLISM
Still on the subject of hands, polydactylism is a congenital abnormality involving being born with too many digits, ranging from rudimentary nubbins to fully formed fingers or toes. While rare, polydactylism is prevalent among communities given to intermarriage, such as Philadelphia's Old Order Amish. Notables with the condition have included Henry VIII's ill-fated second wife Anne Boleyn (whose extra pinky sparked rumours of her being a witch), war photographer Robert Capa and cricketer Garry Sobers. According to The Guinness Book of Records, the record for extra digits goes to Indian brothers Tribhuwan and Triloki Yadav, who boast 20 fingers, four thumbs and 24 toes between them.
CAPGRAS SYNDROME
A loved one has been stolen by a doppelganger; sounds like a movie about alien abduction. But for sufferers of Capgras Syndrome, the action occurs only in their brains, not outer space. This syndrome involves the delusion that a significant other, such as a parent, spouse or other relative, is being impersonated by an imposter. Sufferers sometimes attack the supposed double. The delusion can also extend even to oneself, with the person convinced that the reflection in the mirror is that of an imposter. While extremely rare, it is linked with brain damage, psychotic disorders and various neurological problems that somehow interfere with normal face recognition abilities. The syndrome owes its name to the French psychiatrist who first described it.
RILEY-DAY SYNDROME
Feeling no pain; it doesn't sound like a problem, but it can be lethal for the victims of a syndrome involving, among other symptoms, insensitivity to pain. Caused by a chromosomal abnormality found among Ashkenazi Jews - people of Eastern European Jewish descent - the syndrome makes its victims exceptionally accident-prone because they simply don't register warning signs of tissue damage such as wounds, bruising and burns. They are even oblivious to oxygen deprivation, which means that when they hold their breath, as infants often do, they do so until they black out. Riley-Day patients tend to die young - around half before the age of 30 - from their injuries.
JERUSALEM SYNDROME
This one sounds like the title of a Robert Ludlum thriller, but it's actually a religious psychosis triggered by a visit to Jerusalem. Observed since medieval times, its victims may believe that they are prophets and parade around the city proclaiming the Holy Writ or exhorting sinners to repent. Affecting around 100 tourists per year, it generally clears up once they leave town. However, it can have serious repercussions, as with the widespread rioting that ensued when Australian man Michael Rohan set fire to the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in 1969, convinced he was the "Lord's emissary".
HYPERTRICHOSIS
People with hypertrichosis, a congenital condition involving hair growing all over the body - including eyelids and even ears, which can sprout long curls - have always attracted enormous interest, especially as sideshow stars. Probably the most famous was JoJo the Dog-Faced Boy (aka Fedor Jeftichew, a Russian recruited by showman P.T. Barnum), who toured widely during the latter half of the 19th century. There are different forms of hypertrichosis, distinguished by varying hair type, quantity and distribution. Some cases also have a little hairy appendage called a faun tail.
PENIS PANIC
Koro is one of a number of names for a hysterical condition known medically as Genital Retraction Syndrome, whose victims become convinced that their genitals are disappearing into their bodies. It can be contagious, sparking off "penis panics", such as the one that overtook Singapore in 1967 in which thousands of men became convinced that their penises were being stolen; it was contained by a complete media blackout on the condition. Often blamed on witchcraft, Koro typically strikes in less developed parts of the world, including Africa and Asia, where belief in sorcery remains strong. It's thought to be an extreme overreaction to normal genital shrinking from cold or other causes. Koro can be treated with medical reassurance and anti-anxiety medications.
PROTEUS SYNDROME
Named after Proteus, the Greek god famous for changing his shape, this is a progressive disorder causing disfiguring tumours and abnormal bone development. It's extremely rare, with just over 100 cases confirmed since it was first identified in 1979. Its most celebrated victim was Joseph Merrick, aka "The Elephant Man", a grotesquely deformed man befriended by Dr Frederick Treves, a physician at London Hospital. At first, Merrick was believed to have suffered from the nerve disorder neurofibromatosis, but in 2003 DNA testing on his remains showed that he in fact had Proteus Syndrome. His story inspired the 1980 film The Elephant Man, starring John Hurt as Merrick.
EMOTIONAL BLINDNESS
This one is included simply for light relief, as it isn't a rare illness so much as a universal phenomenon.
Emotional blindness occurs when people exposed to confronting images - violent or erotic - fail to register other stimuli for a short (about one-fifth of a second) but critical period thereafter - a hiatus that doesn't occur after looking at more innocuous images.
This phenomenon, dubbed "emotional rubbernecking" by US researchers who reported it in The Psychonomic Bulletin and Review last August, could have evolutionary value.
From a survival point of view, it pays to focus more on things that signal physical danger or reproductive possibilities, while filtering out less emotionally charged input. Emotional rubbernecking undoubtedly worked for cavemen, who never knew when the next sabre-tooth tiger (or sexual partner) might turn up. Nowadays, given the capacity of sexy billboards to distract drivers from road conditions, for example, it's more likely to be a health hazard.
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| 27th February 2006 04:03 PM |
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| Joey |
" Please state if you have any of these disorders:
Strange afflictions"
Actually , " Strange Afflictions " is a GREAT Band Name .
...............................................
[Edited by Joey] |
| 27th February 2006 04:55 PM |
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| jb |
HUMILIATING RESPONE!!!!! WITHOUT ME< NOTHING HAPPENS>>>>I SHOULD BE PAID!!!!!!!! |
| 27th February 2006 05:25 PM |
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| Joey |
quote:
jb wrote:
HUMILIATING RESPONE!!!!! WITHOUT ME< NOTHING HAPPENS>>>>I SHOULD BE PAID!!!!!!!!
JERUSALEM SYNDROME
This one sounds like the title of a Robert Ludlum thriller, but it's actually a religious psychosis triggered by a visit to Jerusalem. Observed since medieval times, its victims may believe that they are prophets and parade around the city proclaiming the Holy Writ or exhorting sinners to repent. Affecting around 100 tourists per year, it generally clears up once they leave town. However, it can have serious repercussions, as with the widespread rioting that ensued when Australian man Michael Rohan set fire to the al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in 1969, convinced he was the "Lord's emissary
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| 27th February 2006 05:43 PM |
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| voodoopug |
quote:
jb wrote:
HUMILIATING RESPONE!!!!! WITHOUT ME< NOTHING HAPPENS>>>>I SHOULD BE PAID!!!!!!!!
when we dont post together, all that is talked about here is U2 and other substandard bands |
| 27th February 2006 05:46 PM |
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| Joey |
quote:
voodoopug wrote:
when we dont post together, all that is talked about here is U2 and other substandard bands
Agreed !!!!!
The three of us are Great Writers and when we all work / post together the results here on this most prodigious of message boards are absolutely AMAZING !!!!! ( see : Exile on Main Street ) .
J. " Snuggle " Kins ! |
| 27th February 2006 05:50 PM |
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| Gazza |
>FOREIGN ACCENT SYNDROME
Imagine suddenly putting on a convincing French accent. Or Scottish. Or Italian. It sounds like fun, but it's no joke for the victims of Foreign Accent Syndrome, which can set in after strokes or other brain trauma. Without warning, they'll start speaking their native tongue with a different accent, which could sound anything from Swedish to South African. Victims need never have heard the accent in question, according to Oxford University researchers Dr Jennifer Gurd and Dr John Coleman, who believe it arises from damage to areas of the brain responsible for language production, altering pitch, pronunciation and speech patterns. So people with the syndrome aren't putting on a foreign accent, it just sounds that way.
Jagger seems to occasionally suffer from this. I have tapes of numerous shows (mostly from the '78 era) where he seems to adopt this bizarre and hideously exaggerated 'yee-haw' patois (check out 'Handsome Girls' for evidence..)
At various other times, he has been under the illusion he's from various other parts of the US, not to mention South-East London or Kingston, Jamaica.
[Edited by Gazza] |
| 27th February 2006 05:54 PM |
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| pdog |
Is there a syndrome for my hand constantly touching my penis? |
| 27th February 2006 05:57 PM |
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| Gazza |
"Proteus Syndrome" (see above) seems to have similar symptoms
There is also a more common affliction which accounts for this behaviour which I believe is called "Wankers Syndrome"
At the last estimate there were appoximately 3 billion sufferers. All of them male.
It's been known to be tied in with "Jerusalem Syndrome" too, because if you do it for more than a few minutes, you start speaking in tongues and acting like you've seen The Promised Land
[Edited by Gazza] |
| 27th February 2006 05:59 PM |
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| pdog |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
"Proteus Syndrome" (see above) seems to have similar symptoms
There is also a more common affliction which accounts for this behaviour which I believe is called "Wankers Syndrome"
At the last estimate there were appoximately 3 billion sufferers. All of them male.
Chronic... Guilty !!! |
| 27th February 2006 06:11 PM |
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| PeerQueer |
quote:
pdog wrote:
Is there a syndrome for my hand constantly touching my penis?
___
Don't fret - I often have that effect on men... |
| 27th February 2006 09:06 PM |
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| Navin |
"give me some good old lobotomy" |
| 27th February 2006 09:10 PM |
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| PeerQueer |
quote:
Navin wrote:
"give me some good old lobotomy"
____
You're a bottom?
Cool! I'm a top!
What a match! |
| 27th February 2006 09:25 PM |
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| Navin |
Only quoting a line from "All The Madmen" performed by David Bowie and Mick Ronson on their 1970 record, 'The Man Who Sold The World" |
| 27th February 2006 10:19 PM |
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| PeerQueer |
quote:
Navin wrote:
Only quoting a line from "All The Madmen" performed by David Bowie and Mick Ronson on their 1970 record, 'The Man Who Sold The World"
____
Bowie and Ronson -----like I was saying... |
| 27th February 2006 10:49 PM |
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| jb |
I'm glad I gave this thread some life and saved you from further humiliation(hint-when I am not posting, it's best to lay low). |
| 27th February 2006 11:48 PM |
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| PeerQueer |
quote:
jb wrote:
I'm glad I gave this thread some life and saved you from further humiliation(hint-when I am not posting, it's best to lay low).
____
Actually I found Pug's initial post intriguing and quite cheeky! It just took folks a little time to get their arms around the implied implications.
Pug works at a much higher level than most and sometimes the masses simply don't know how to respond due to uncertainty.
Between Pug and Joey this place kicks ass!!!!
JB - you have provided ample humor and interest in the past - but all of us now must question your heart - your dedication...these flimsy attempts at whimsy will simply not do.
....could it be an end of an era?
Dammit JB! Breathe!!!!!!!!!! Breathe dammit!!!!!!!!!! |
| 27th February 2006 11:50 PM |
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| jb |
While I respect Joey and Pug, without me, this place has about as much excitement as watching a eunuch in a whorwhouse. |
| 27th February 2006 11:53 PM |
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| PeerQueer |
quote:
jb wrote:
While I respect Joey and Pug, without me, this place has about as much excitement as watching a eunuch in a whorwhouse.
____
I am familiar with the term whorehouse, but what is a whorwhouse????
Is that some Jewish thing? |
| 27th February 2006 11:55 PM |
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| PeerQueer |
Tell me sir, what type of law do you practice?
Personal injury, real estate, governmental, etc.?????? |
| 27th February 2006 11:55 PM |
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| PeerQueer |
Tell me sir, what type of law do you practice?
Personal injury, real estate, governmental, etc.?????? |
| 28th February 2006 12:01 AM |
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| PeerQueer |
Don't mind the double-post
...I'm drugged... |
| 28th February 2006 05:44 AM |
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| egon |
quote:
pdog wrote:
Is there a syndrome for my hand constantly touching my penis?
I am NOT alone! |
| 28th February 2006 05:46 AM |
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| egon |
quote:
PeerQueer wrote:
Tell me sir, what type of law do you practice?
Personal injury, real estate, governmental, etc.??????
He specialises in jew law.
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| 28th February 2006 11:09 AM |
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| jb |
Jew Law...............................>Thanks Egon
cc:jc |
| 28th February 2006 11:12 AM |
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| Joey |
quote:
jb wrote:
While I respect Joey and Pug, without me, this place has about as much excitement as watching a eunuch in a whorwhouse.
Funny !
If my calculations are correct , the United States lost the Iraqi War two weeks ago with Mike Wallace's " Sixty Minutes " piece on some of the War's Amputees :
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V
" Bush job rating falls to all-time low: poll "
Mon Feb 27, 11:52 PM ET
" President George W. Bush's job rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent, amid strong opposition to the Dubai Ports World deal and increasing pessimism over the war in Iraq, according to a CBS News poll released on Monday.
Bush's overall job approval fell eight points from 42 percent last month. Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they disapproved of Bush's performance on the job, the poll found.
Bush's previous low job approval rating of 35 percent came last October, a month after Hurricane Katrina laid waste to the Gulf Coast and shortly after the U.S. death toll in Iraq reached the 2,000 mark, CBS said.
Long among his strongest suits, ratings for Bush's handling of Iraq fell to a new low of 30 percent, down from 37 percent in January, the poll found.
In addition, 62 percent of Americans said they think U.S. efforts to bring stability and order to Iraq were going badly compared with 36 percent who said things were going well.
In recent days, the Bush administration has faced increasing sectarian violence and fears of civil war in Iraq as well as strong bipartisan congressional opposition to a deal allowing an Arab state-owned company to operate six key U.S. ports.
According to the poll, 70 percent believe the Dubai Ports World transaction should not be allowed to go through while only 21 percent did not see the ports deal as a problem.
One surprising bright spot for the administration in the polls was that Americans appeared ready to move on after Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident. Seventy-six percent said it was understandable that the accident could happen.
However media coverage of the accident may have made the public's generally negative view of Cheney a bit more so, CBS said. The poll found that 46 percent hold a negative view of Cheney and 18 percent hold a favorable view, down from a 23 percent favorable rating in January.
The telephone poll of 1,018 adults was conducted February 22-26 and had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. "
[Edited by Joey] |
| 28th February 2006 01:44 PM |
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| PeerQueer |
Not your best work Joey - the Nixon-era is played out babe.
JB is now gaining on you once again, with Pug close behind...
Step it up a notch kid... |
| 28th February 2006 01:51 PM |
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| Ihavelotsajam |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
>Jagger seems to occasionally suffer from this. I have tapes of numerous shows (mostly from the '78 era) where he seems to adopt this bizarre and hideously exaggerated 'yee-haw' patois (check out 'Handsome Girls' for evidence..)
Is there an illness where you pretend to chew gum while having absolutely NOTHING in your mouth? Cause Jagger most deffinitely suffers from that strange illness. |
| 28th February 2006 01:58 PM |
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| Joey |
" Step it up a notch kid... "
For My Peer Queer ! *** Sniff ***
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| 28th February 2006 02:08 PM |
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| voodoopug |
quote:
PeerQueer wrote:
Not your best work Joey - the Nixon-era is played out babe.
JB is now gaining on you once again, with Pug close behind...
Step it up a notch kid...
We see Joey as the emotional leader of the pack, a true pioneer in the world of posting. When we feel we are producing our best posts, joey will follow it up with something even better, letting us know that with hard work and dedication, one day we can be half the poster he is! When we are dead and gone (probably in the next 3-7 years) folks will say:
"Ah, I remember jb and pug....fine posters, legendary even, but Joey was the true icon, beloved yet despised by many who are jealous of his success." |
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