A 26-year-old man, who was born with a huge arm, had left doctors baffled by his condition. His right arm is not in symmetry with the rest of his body. Now his right arm weighs 9 kgs.
Malik Aftab, a 26-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh, Ghazipur, suffers from a deformity in his right hand. He said that when he was a kid, he visited several doctors, but no one diagnosed what caused the deformity in his hand. He also said that his family cannot afford the required treatment for his large limb. His right arm weighs 9 kg now, the same weight as 3 bricks. The deformity is affecting only one side of the body and it causes pain and makes him tired easily.
As per the doctors, the condition of Malik Aftab is similar to Proteus syndrome, which is a rare condition that causes overgrowth of certain parts of the body. Malik said many people noticed him but they turned a blind eye or walked far away from him and also said some people are afraid of him and some people love him.
It is a rare condition and has only been noted 200 times in the medical literature. Scientists are uncertain about this condition, but they assume it can be due to genetic causes. However, Malik has become a social media star, he has 1,94,000 followers on Instagram.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, Proteus syndrome is a very rare genetic disease, which is marked by the overgrowth of certain parts of the body. It can affect bones, tissues, organs, and skin and it causes portions of the body to grow asymmetrically. The gene that helps to control cell growth and cell division is AKT1, a mutation in this gene causes Proteus syndrome.
It affects bones, skin, organs, and tissues. Newborns with this rare condition generally don’t show any symptoms. The unusual growth occurs between the ages of 10 months and 18 months and swiftly grows within 10 years and reaches more severe as you grow.
This condition can lead to serious intricacies, that include cancer, deep vein thrombosis, and pulmonary embolism. This syndrome can affect anyone. As it is an extremely rare condition it can affect fewer than 1 in 1 million people worldwide.
The signs and symptoms of this syndrome are asymmetrical overgrowth that appears between 6 months and 18 months. It can affect any body part including bones, skin, tissues, and organs. Irregular development of bones in arms, legs, skull, and spine, severe curvature of the spine, abnormal skin growth, abnormal growth of blood vessels, and overgrowth of adipose tissue (fat tissue).
Some people affected by this rare condition can show neurological abnormalities and distinctive facial features. They are intellectual disabilities, seizures, vision loss, a long face, the outside corners of the eyes pointing downward, a flat nose bridge with wide nostrils, and an open mouth expression.
Reference:
1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24497-proteus-syndrome
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)