This week I really had no idea what to talk about.
However, that all changed when I tuned into my favorite show, Grey’s Anatomy.
The episode I am referring to was called “Super Freak”. In this episode, a man comes into the hospital with a rare condition. This
poor man was covered in growths all over his body that looked like tree bark.
This rare disease is
known as Epidermodysplasia verruciformis (EV). Epidermodysplasia
verruciformis (EV) is a rare, autosomal recessive inherited skin disorder. The
wart like lesions that resemble tree bark can appear anywhere on the body. These
lesions are caused by infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). EV
patients have an abnormal or impaired immune response to HPV or wart viruses.
As stated before, EV
is an autosomal recessive disease which means that two abnormal EV genes from
each parent must be inherited to have the disease. In studying the gene, it has
been found that mutations in the EVER1 or EVER2 genes on
chromosome 17q25 are what can be linked to the disease. This mutation decreases
the body’s ability to fight off HPV infections, which is turn causes
Epidermodysplasia verruciformis. This disease usually shows its first symptoms
at either infancy or between the ages of 5 and 11. Any person, male or female
and those of any race can inherit this disease.
Unfortunately, there
is no cure for this disease. Even if surgeons are as skilled as those on Grey’s
Anatomy, these wart like lesion can still reappear. EV is something that people
have to deal with for their entire lives. And if these lesions weren’t bad
enough, 30-60% of EV patients will have lesions that will change into skin
cancers. EV lesions are more likely to turn into cancer with the exposure to
the sun. With no cure, the best way to manage this disease is by staying out of
the sun and the combination of medical and surgical treatments.
Here are what these
warts can look like:
So next time you get
a pimple or a bad rash, be thankful your body knows how to fight off HPV.
I never heard of EV prior to reading your post. EV sounds like an interesting yet horrible genetic disease. I can only imagine the struggles that people who have EV experience on a daily basis. Loved your post, I found it to be extremely interesting and insightful.
ReplyDeleteI loved that episode of Grey's Anatomy! So, I obviously knew what EV was, but I never really read much into it past what was said on Grey's. I never realized that it could get so bad though. This is a really great and interesting post.
ReplyDeleteOkay that disgusting. I had never heard of this disease before....and wish I never had. I will always think about how just two genes being mutated can cause so many problems. Its insane.
ReplyDeleteI love this disease! I have always found it so interesting! I think you did a great job on covering the disease itself and how a simple mutation can lead to such a horrendous condition.
ReplyDeleteI've honestly never seen an episode of Grey's Anatomy but I have heard a lot about it. I did see a documentary on TLC about a guy from India who had a serious case of this disease. His whole entire body was covered and I think they called him "The Human Tree". HPV is a pretty serious virus and its very shocking that there isn't a cure for it yet.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing this episode of Grey's Anatomy! I actually thought it was a made up disease when I first saw it because I thought it was crazy how it could be true. I really hope researchers on the matter find a cure fast.
ReplyDeleteI never heard of this before. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteWow this is a sad and disgusting disease! Thank goodness for normal immune response against HPV! That is awful there is really no lasting treatment and those with the genetic deficiency to fight the virus will battle this disease there whole life. The only hopeful thing is the amazing advances being made daily in medical research. Certainly there are researchers working on understanding the genetic mutations that lead to this disease. Hopefully those affected will one day be cured.
ReplyDeleteI kind of link to the most recent thing I learned earlier in the week and talk about it here if I can relate it. I feel like I've seen cases of this on TV where they talk about certain tribes or small communities. If this is a recessive trait then that makes since due to the likely hood of it happening increase with similar people.
ReplyDeleteLike our student Dr. Reichert says, it is a lifelong problem and we can only hope to not only help them survive but give them some sort of comfort during their life.