rare disorders

16 Stories

Luxembourg's Prince Frederik Dead at 22
Luxembourg's
Prince Frederik Dead at 22
OBITUARY
Mar 10, 2025 7:11 AM CDT

Luxembourg's Prince Frederik Dead at 22

Young royal had a rare genetic disorder called PolG disease

(Newser) - A young European royal is dead after succumbing to a rare genetic disorder. TMZ reports that 22-year-old Prince Frederik of Luxembourg, the youngest son of the Prince and Princess of Nassau, died earlier this month of PolG disease, a mitochondrial condition that "robs the body's cells of energy,...

After Tough Workout, Lacrosse Players Stricken by Rare Injury

Dozen Tufts players diagnosed with muscle condition rhabdomyolysis; 5 are still hospitalized

(Newser) - A dozen Tufts University men's lacrosse players have been diagnosed with a rare muscle injury after participating in a voluntary, supervised 45-minute workout that the team conducted, a university spokesperson said Friday. Five of the players who've been diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis remained hospitalized Friday, according to Patrick Collins,...

Man's Rare Disorder: 'I Woke Up in a Demon World'
He Woke Up
One Day and
Thought He Was
'in a Demon World'
in case you missed it
Mar 24, 2024 11:20 AM CDT

He Woke Up One Day and Thought He Was 'in a Demon World'

Odd neurological condition detailed in 'Lancet' case study causes patient to see distorted faces

(Newser) - We've all woken up on occasion with gunk in our eyes or experienced other visual issues—but for Tennessee native Victor Sharrah, what he started experiencing more than three years ago was a tad more frightening, and it's landed him in the medical annals. "My first thought...

Celine Dion Cancels Tour Over Neurological Disorder

Singer with stiff person syndrome not ready to return to stage—though 'I'm not giving up'

(Newser) - Celine Dion's rare neurological condition will keep her from touring even longer than expected. The singer canceled the European leg of her Courage World Tour, which was to run from August to April 2024, on Friday, per the Guardian . "All remaining dates currently on sale for 2023 and...

Bieber Reveals Rare Disorder, Asks Fans to 'Please Pray'

Singer, 28, has Ramsay Hunt syndrome, a rare neurological disorder that causes face paralysis

(Newser) - Justin Bieber fans upset that he's had to cancel some recent shows may be more understanding now that he's saying why. E! Online reports the 28-year-old singer is "taking time off to rest," due to a rare condition he revealed Friday on Instagram . In his online...

His Uncombable Hair Is an Actual Syndrome
Mom's Social Media Post
Leads to Son's Diagnosis
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Mar 12, 2022 12:40 PM CST

Mom's Social Media Post Leads to Son's Diagnosis

Lock Samples is fine, except for his Uncombable hair syndrome

(Newser) - A mother's social media post that featured her young son's unruly hair has led to a surprise diagnosis: It turns out that Lock Samples of Roswell, Ga., has an extremely rare condition known as uncombable hair syndrome, reports Fox 5 Atlanta . The name is self-explanatory: Lock's hair...

Docs on Man's CT Scan: We'd 'Never Seen Anything Like This'
In Man With Back Pain,
'One of the Rarest' Conditions
in case you missed it
May 16, 2020 10:30 AM CDT

In Man With Back Pain, 'One of the Rarest' Conditions

Patient in Sao Paulo, Brazil, had a slipped disk—and 3 kidneys

(Newser) - Doctors examining a man with back pain discovered the cause of that particular malady—and also stumbled across an odd bonus find. IFLScience reports on a case study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine that details how a 38-year-old man in Sao Paulo, Brazil, showed up...

Cops: NY Woman Harassed Toddler With Rare Disorder

Krista Sewell is accused of stalking 2-year-old Anna, who has condition that makes her skin split

(Newser) - "Over the past year, I have fought a battle I never thought I would fight and I felt fear no mother should feel," says Jennie Riley. The battle the upstate New York mom refers to is that of a harassment campaign against her toddler, allegedly carried out by...

Former Model Starved to Death—but Not From Anorexia
Former Model Starved to
Death—but Not From Anorexia
in case you missed it
Jan 28, 2017 1:14 PM CST

Former Model Starved to Death—but Not From Anorexia

Down to 77 pounds, Lisa Brown said she was 'done fighting'

(Newser) - In her late 20s, Lisa Brown had it all—the 5'10" former model married her college sweetheart, had attended grad school, and loved to cook gourmet meals and take spins in a classic Mustang convertible. But at 28 she began to mysteriously lose weight and vomit after eating. By...

Her Doctors Couldn't Solve Her Health Mystery. Facebook Did

Tess Bigelow has incredibly rare USP7 mutation

(Newser) - Social media has helped solve the mystery of a young girl's health problems when her doctors couldn't. Bo Bigelow says his 6-year-old daughter, Tess, is non-verbal, has the mental capacity of an 18-month-old, and suffers gastrointestinal issues, periodic seizures, vision problems, and hip dysplasia—yet multiple tests failed...

Woman Wakes Up One Day, Can't Swallow


 Rare Disorder 
 Keeps Woman 
 From Swallowing 
in case you missed it
Mar 26, 2016 1:50 PM CDT

Rare Disorder Keeps Woman From Swallowing

Samantha Anderson initially told it was stress

(Newser) - Samantha Anderson figured she had a work-packed weekend ahead when something happened at breakfast: The then-39-year-old couldn't swallow a single bite. "I went to swallow and I couldn’t," says the Australian jewelry maker. "It didn’t happen. I choked." The mother of three dismissed...

Family's 4 Kids Mysteriously Losing Ability to Walk
 Family's 4 Kids 
 Mysteriously Losing 
 Ability to Walk 
in case you missed it
Jul 11, 2015 7:00 PM CDT

Family's 4 Kids Mysteriously Losing Ability to Walk

Doctors still can't pinpoint exactly what their condition is

(Newser) - Having one child with a rare muscular disease would buck the odds; having four kids affected by it is downright astonishing. That's the plight of 23-year-old Rivka, 22-year-old Tziporah, 18-year-old Tzvi, and 15-year-old Racheli Herzfeld, four siblings from Teaneck, NJ, who are fighting what Fox News calls a "...

'100-Year-Old Teen' Dies at 17
 '100-Year-Old Teen' Dies at 17 
Apr 3, 2015 12:38 PM CDT

'100-Year-Old Teen' Dies at 17

Hayley Okines suffered from rare disease, aged 8 times faster than normal

(Newser) - "Sometimes people ask me if I could have three wishes, would I wish I didn't have progeria? And I say no." So said UK teen Hayley Okines in her 2012 autobiography Old Before My Time , telling readers her life with the rare premature-aging disease was "full...

Baby Born With Half a Heart
 Baby Born With Half a Heart 
Mar 11, 2015 2:19 PM CDT

Baby Born With Half a Heart

Aiden Rodgers diagnosed with rare condition when mom was 20 weeks pregnant

(Newser) - "January 8, 2014, is a day I'll never forget," writes Jenny Rodgers on the Texas Children's Hospital blog. That was the day that she and her husband, Philip, found out that their unborn son, Aiden, had only half a heart—a rare condition known as hypoplastic...

Why This Family Is 150 Days Into Quarantine
 Why This Family Is 
 150 Days Into Quarantine 
in case you missed it
Nov 2, 2014 6:55 AM CST

Why This Family Is 150 Days Into Quarantine

Daughter has a rare disorder exacerbated by even minor illnesses

(Newser) - Talk these days of quarantines revolves around Ebola, but one South Carolina family has voluntarily blocked themselves off from the outside world—not to protect others, but to protect their 4-year-old daughter, Eliza, who suffers from the most severe form of a rare genetic disorder called Sanfilippo syndrome . The metabolic...

Why 5 Siblings Walk on All Fours and Can't Stand Up

Scientists call into question a 'reverse evolution' theory about the Turkish family

(Newser) - Some people walk on all fours for fun, or for sport, but not for long stretches and certainly not for ease of mobility. Yet five siblings in a family of 19 in Hatay, Turkey, walk not just primarily but only on all fours, and lack the balance to do otherwise....

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