According to a report by the Spanish newspaper El País, over a dozen children in Spain have recently been diagnosed with the rare condition hypertrichosis — also known as werewolf syndrome, for its signature symptom of excessive hair growth.
What is Hypertrichosis?
Hypertrichosis (or “Werewolf Syndrome”) is a very rare condition, with fewer than 100 cases documented worldwide. But researchers knew the disorder runs in families, and in 1995 they traced the approximate location of the mutation to a section of the X chromosome (one of the two sex chromosomes) in a Mexican family affected by hypertrichosis.
Men with the syndrome have hair covering their faces and eyelids, while women grow thick patches on their bodies. Hypertrichosis can appear at birth or develop over time.
‘Contamination’
Spain’s Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices confirmed the outbreak of hypertrichosis this week after 17 cases were reported by parents in three regions in Spain, due to contaminated medicine.
The reason for the contamination is not known yet, but minoxidil (an ingredient used to treat hair loss) was somehow switched with another drug called omeprazole, an medication for indigestion each of the infants had been using.
To read more about this very rare and unusual case, click here.
And watch the video below to learn about an Indian boy’s case with hypertrichosis.
