Prithviraj Patil who is known as the ‘Werewolf Boy’ due to hair growth all over his face and body, suffers from a rare genetic condition called hypertrichosis (Werewolf Syndrome) since birth. (Click to enlarge images)
Prithviraj Patil, the son of a well-to-do farmer in Sangalwadi near Sangli, Maharashtra is otherwise a healthy normal child. The facial hair, which is up to three-inches (8 cm) long may look awful, but it does not induce any itch or rash on the skin and it is not accompanied by any odor or skin disorder.
"Hairy nevus, where a person has patches of excess hair growth or hirsutism, is not uncommon. But hair persisting all over the body is very rare", said plastic surgeon Vinay Saoji. He is believed to be one of only 50 people in the world with this condition.
Prithviraj’s family tried all sorts of treatment but to no avail. Then they appealed to doctors to provide a permanent cure. The hair grows back even after laser treatment and this has baffled doctors. Prithviraj lives in his own world as he often gets bullied and laughed at a lot at first, but soon people came to accept him.
Such traits, reminding us of real or supposed evolutionary lost characteristics are called atavisms. They usually appear because genes for previously existing phenotypical traits are not discarded from the genome, but often preserved and just inhibited by our DNA. Even if these genes are not expressed, a mutation can reactivate them.
Prithviraj Patil, the son of a well-to-do farmer in Sangalwadi near Sangli, Maharashtra is otherwise a healthy normal child. The facial hair, which is up to three-inches (8 cm) long may look awful, but it does not induce any itch or rash on the skin and it is not accompanied by any odor or skin disorder.
"Hairy nevus, where a person has patches of excess hair growth or hirsutism, is not uncommon. But hair persisting all over the body is very rare", said plastic surgeon Vinay Saoji. He is believed to be one of only 50 people in the world with this condition.
Prithviraj’s family tried all sorts of treatment but to no avail. Then they appealed to doctors to provide a permanent cure. The hair grows back even after laser treatment and this has baffled doctors. Prithviraj lives in his own world as he often gets bullied and laughed at a lot at first, but soon people came to accept him.
Such traits, reminding us of real or supposed evolutionary lost characteristics are called atavisms. They usually appear because genes for previously existing phenotypical traits are not discarded from the genome, but often preserved and just inhibited by our DNA. Even if these genes are not expressed, a mutation can reactivate them.
