It's crazy to me how many different medical conditions there are, but what's even crazier is how many anomalies there can be. Medical mysteries are so wild, because you'd think that most things can be explained by science, but that's not always the case.
Doctors go through years and years of training, but there are still some things that stump them to their core. These are some of the craziest medical mysteries still waiting to be solved, and you won't be able to stop thinking about them.
1. Sudoku Seizures
A 25-year-old man became the center of a study when he began experiencing seizures while completing Sudoku puzzles. The man had survived being buried by an avalanche, but had gone 15 minutes without oxygen. He was required to stay in a rehabilitation center, which is when the seizures began.
"He was in the rehabilitation clinic, and he was bored, so he started doing Sudokus," said co-author of the study and neurologist Dr. Berend Feddersen.
Once he stopped the puzzle, his seizures stopped. The doctors thought perhaps the seizures would also happen during reading, writing, or math, but that wasn't the case. It was only during Sudokus.
The man never returned to Sudokus, and has been fine ever since.
"[He] has been seizure free for more than 5 years," the study authors wrote.
2. Perpetual Child
I know my mom used to say she wanted us kids to stay young forever, but for one family this actually happened. A woman named Brooke Greenberg passed away at the age of 20, but if you looked at her you would have assumed she was a toddler.
You see, once she hit five years old, Brooke's body stopped developing. The only parts of her that continued growing were her hair and nails. Her mental capacity was that of a two-year-old. Doctors had no idea why this young woman stopped aging, especially since her DNA didn't show any abnormalities.
Neither of Brooke's parents had a history of abnormal development, and all of her sisters were normal and healthy.
Doctors still refer to Brooke's condition as "Syndrome X," and classify it as a metabolic syndrome.
3. Mermaid Syndrome
Shiloh Pepin and Tiffany Yorks defied the odds when they survived infancy with what's known as "mermaid syndrome." Otherwise known as sirenomelia, mermaid syndrome causes a person's legs to completely fuse together.
You may be wondering why a condition with a legitimate name is considered a mystery, but that's because no one knows what causes it. Sirenomelia is a completely random birth defect with no apparent reason or pattern. The current theory is that environmental factors may play into the development of the defect, but they can't be sure.
4. Never Hungry
This is something I cannot fathom, because I am always hungry. But one young boy in Iowa permanently lost his appetite, and doctors can't figure out why.
It started in 2013 when Landon Jones developed a lung infection in his left lung. Doctor's treated the infection and sent him home. His appetite didn't return, which his family thought was normal at first. The problem, however, is that it never came back.
Landon lost 35lbs because he never felt the desire to eat. The 12-year-old boy has to be constantly encouraged by his family and teachers to eat. Even if a plate of McDonald's is placed in front of him, Landon doesn't want it.
Doctors believe that there could be something wrong with his hypothalamus, which controls hunger, thirst, blood pressure and sleep. Despite countless medical tests, no answers have been given to Landon's family.
The only thing doctors are able to say is that it's highly likely Landon is the only person in the world to suffer from this condition, whatever it is.
5. Stone Tears
We've all heard of "crocodile tears," but crying stones is something I've never come across. Eight-year-old Saadia of Yemen does just that.
When Saadia cries, small stones emerge from her tear ducts instead of tears. Her father did mention that she can cry real tears, but that during the afternoon and night she produces the stones.
The good news is that young Saadia isn't in any pain, despite passing up to 100 tiny stones in a day. The bad news is that doctors have not been able to give her a diagnosis for her condition.
6. Bumped Blindness
Guide dogs are supposed to help those with visual impairments get around in their day-to-day life by acting as their eyes, but Lisa Reid's dog inadvertently gave the New Zealand native her eyesight back.
When she was 11 years old, Reid lost her eyesight due to a tumor that pressed down on her optic nerve. Thirteen years later, Reid bent down to kiss her guide dog Ami goodnight. Reid struck her head on a coffee table while trying to kiss Ami, and when she woke up the next morning her eyesight had been restored.
Reid's eyesight came back just as clearly as it had been before, and 14 years later she can still see.
7. Autobiographical Memory
If you ask most people what they did on August 22, 1998, they'll have no idea. Actually, if you ask most people what they had for dinner last night, they'll have no idea.
But for Jill Price, who was the first reported case of highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), she can recall what she did on any given day of her life. Heck, she'll even tell you what day of the week it fell on.
Price was diagnosed with HSAM in 2006, and since then more people have been diagnosed with the condition. However, the exact cause of it remains to be seen.
Brain scans of people with HSAM have shown slightly different structures to their cerebrum, but doctors aren't sure if the differences are the cause of HSAM, or if they are a result of using the area of the brain associated with memory at a higher rate.
8. Bad Blood
This is considered one of the strangest medical cases in history, mainly because of how quickly it all happened.
In 1984, Gloria Ramirez was in the ER after suffering from the effects of advanced cervical cancer. Staff tried to defibrilate Ramirez's heart, but noticed her skin became oily when they did. A nurse came and attempted to draw blood from Ramirez, which is when things got weird.
The minute her blood began to trickle through the needle, a foul odor filled the room. An ammonia-like smell came from the tube, and a nurse noticed manila-colored particles floating in the blood. One of the medical residents began to feel light-headed and had to leave the room, and she wasn't the only one.
Of the 37 employees in the emergency room, 23 of them experienced symptoms. Some passed out immediately, others lost the use of their limbs. One worker spent two weeks in intensive care.
The entire hospital was evacuated due to the apparent contamination. Sadly, after 45 minutes of CPR and defibrillation, Ramirez was pronounced dead from kidney failure related to her cancer.
A team of investigators were sent in to try and determine what caused the outbreak, but no one could come up with anything. To this day, it remains a mystery.
