The most bizarre family medical conditions

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 Bek Day Editor

Red hair runs in some families. Artistic ability runs in others. Yet there are far more serious genetic traits that can be handed down through the generations – and some truly bizarre medical conditions that plague some families. Here are the five very strange examples …

The 'vampire' brothers

They can’t go in the sun, have ‘fangs’ and their last name is Cullen – but this is real life, not a Twilightspin-off. Simon and George were both born with the incredibly rare Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (HED), which means they are unable to sweat, will never grow a full set of teeth, and what teeth they do have are sharp and pointy.  Image via YouTube/Barcroft Media

The 'werewolf family' of Mexico

Mexican man Jesus Aceves was born with a rare condition called hypertrichosis, which causes hair to grow all over his body and face. He is married with two daughters, both of whom have the condition, as does his sister.

The blue people of Kentucky

Blue eyes are one thing to pass down, but blue skin? For the people of the small town of Troublesome Creek in Kentucky, this was a genetic trait many were born with, due to a rare condition called Methemoglobinemia, which among other things can make the skin appear blue. The condition was traced back to Martin Fugate, a French immigrant who arrived in the town in the early 19th Century. Due to the isolation of the town and a fair bit of intermarrying, a large amount of the town’s citizens ended up with the condition. Image via Nclark

The Turkish family that walks on all fours

In what was a long-standing mystery, five members of the Ulas family living in Turkey walk on all fours. A documentary entitled The Family that Walks on All Fours was made about the Ulas family, and while it contained much speculation as to why they had all adopted this rare gait, scientists have since solved the mystery. “Scientists from Aarhus University, Denmark, have finally found the biological cause of the family’s disorder” reports Science Nordic. “In medical terms [the disorder is] referred to as Cerebellar Ataxia, Mental Retardation, and Dysequilibrium Syndrome or simply CAMRQ. The research shows how an extremely rare mutation prevents proteins from distributing fat molecules correctly in the cells. This leads to defective nerve cells, brain damage, and loss of balance, which means that the Turkish family are forced to use both their arms and legs to walk in order to not lose their balance and fall over.” Image via YouTube

Swedish twins suffer from 'Folie a deux'

The story of Ursula and Sabina Eriksson is a deeply disturbing one. The twins suffered a rare episode of ‘folie a deux’ or ‘shared psychosis’, in which delusional beliefs can be transited from one twin to another. The twins started behaving erratically on a motorway in England after being kicked off a coach. They walked brazenly down the busy motorway, and after a while the police were called. Trying to avoid police, both women showed extraordinary strength, running in front of traffic and being struck by vehicles before getting back up, amazingly, and fighting police. Eventually the twins were subdued (it took six officers to detain Sabina alone) and taken to hospital as a result of their injuries. There were no traces of drugs or alcohol in either twin’s body, and the next day Sabina seemed ‘completely normal’ and was released, while her sister remained in hospital. She then brutally murdered a man who had taken her in by stabbing him repeatedly, at which point she launched herself off a bridge, but survived. She was sentenced to five years in prison, and neither twin has shown further signs of the brief insanity that overtook them both.

Image via YouTube Source: Cracked.com