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Even though science has made many helpful discoveries in the field of medicine, there are still many rare and strange diseases that doctors do not know the cause of, and cannot treat satisfactorily. One such disease is Human Werewolf Syndrome, also known as Hypertrichosis. This disease is so rare that there have only been 50 known cases since the Middle Ages. People with this disease have excess hair growing in areas where it normally shouldn't grow. Even ears and eyelids can sprout long curls. (In its worst form, people resemble Star Wars Wookies.) Perhaps you have seen the two brothers from Mexico, Danny and Larry Ramos Gomez, that have thick animal-like hair growing on their faces. They perform amazing stunts in a circus now, but when they were younger, they were in a freak show, gawked at by spectators who called them "wolf children." They would sit in chairs inside a cage. Feeling compassion, the son of a circus owner talked his dad into hiring them, and then teaching them skilled circus acts. They started as magicians, then learned the trampoline, and finally went on to become trapeze artists.

Geneticist Dr. Luis Figuera, has studied this condition for 20 years. He has traced the problem in the Gomez family back five generations. It has affected about 20 men and women in the family. Hypertrichosis is a congenital, genetic abnormality.

Another bizarre illness is called Morgellons Disease. It is a horrifying malady affecting more than 3,000 families nationwide. There have been reports of the strange illness in every state in the U. S., and 15 countries worldwide. Most reported cases are in California, Florida, and Texas. It is described as a skin disorder comprised of horrible sores, and the feeling of crawling sensations on and under the skin, often compared to bugs. The strangest thing about the disease is the presence of fibers that appear to be coming from the lesions. These can appear white, blue, green, red or black. Some doctors have tried to call the disease psychosomatic, but that explanation won't fly with former Oakland A's pitcher, Billy Koch. He, his wife, and his 3 children all have it. Saving 44 games, he was the top reliever in the major leagues. In addition to the previously described symptoms, he also experienced uncontrollable muscle twitching, that would keep him awake all night, eventually requiring him to give up baseball. Called crazy, this family was finally given a powerful anti-parasitic drug, along with antibiotics, which provided

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