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Human Elephant Disease

Many medical conditions have nicknames based on distinguishing characteristics. Human Elephant Disease is one such example. But what is the true name and story behind this condition?

  1. Proteus Syndrome

    • The medical name for Human Elephant Disease is Proteus Syndrome. Michael Cohen, Jr., DMD, Ph.D discovered it in 1979, but medical references to a similar condition exist as far back as 1907.

    Symptoms

    • Proteus Syndrome causes large tumors to grow above and below the skin. Asymmetric overgrowth of the body is another characteristic. The name Human Elephant Disease comes from the rough, dark appearance of the skin, like an elephant's.

    Causes

    • Doctors do not know the cause of Proteus Syndrome. It does not affect one gender or race exclusively, and the few existing cases are not in a single area of the world. Proteus Syndrome does not reoccur in a single family, so it is apparently not hereditary.

    Treatment

    • The National Institutes of Health (NIH) states that managing Proteus Syndrome requires a team of specialists. This is because the overgrowth appears in various parts of the body. Treatment of Human Elephant Disease commonly involves orthopedic and plastic surgeons.

    Prognosis

    • People with Proteus Syndrome have varying life spans, according to the severity of the overgrowth. Joseph Merrick, the "Elephant Man" and the most famous sufferer of Human Elephant Disease, lived to be 27 years old.

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