An American woman named Holly LaPrade has been diagnosed with a rare genetic disease that causes a second skeleton to grow inside her muscles.
People magazine reported that LaPrade began to notice her neck and shoulders were losing their mobility when she was 16 years old. She found that she could no longer raise her arms above her head. People is a widely read American weekly publication that specializes in celebrity news and human interest stories.
Medical professionals initially suspected she had lymphoma after reviewing her X-rays. Lymphoma is a broad term for cancer that begins in the lymphatic system, which is a crucial part of the immune network in the human body. The X-rays had revealed abnormal new growths forming in her soft tissues.
A medical biopsy eventually confirmed the true cause of the growths. Doctors diagnosed LaPrade with fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, commonly known as FOP. A biopsy involves removing a small sample of tissue from the body so that it can be examined closely under a microscope in a laboratory.
Bone formation process
Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva is a severe condition that causes bone to form inside muscles, tendons and ligaments. Tendons are the tough cords of fibrous tissue that attach muscles to bones, while ligaments serve to connect bones to other bones at the joints.
Over time, this condition gradually creates a second skeleton. The biological process literally locks the body of the patient inside a rigid structure of bone. The normal adult human skeleton consists of 206 bones that provide structural support, but this disease generates unwanted extra skeletal mass.
The disease is exceptionally rare and occurs in approximately one out of every two million people worldwide. For a long time, the global medical community considered fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva to be entirely incurable.
Living with the condition
LaPrade is now 45 years old. When she first received her diagnosis as a teenager, there were no available treatments for the disease. The landscape of medical science has changed since then, and several different drugs have now been formally approved to help manage the condition.
LaPrade said the development of these approved drugs was an incredible progress. Despite the severe physical restrictions imposed by her secondary skeleton, she maintains an active personal and professional life.
She is married and works as a human resources manager. Human resources professionals typically oversee employee relations, recruitment and workplace policies within an organization. She also drives a car, travels to different places and regularly attends live music concerts.
Daily isolation struggles
LaPrade said that the main difficulty of living with her diagnosis is a deep sense of isolation. Because the genetic disease is so extremely rare, she said it is very difficult for the people around her to understand the daily limitations she faces.
Patients living with highly unusual diseases often struggle to find support groups or individuals who share their exact experiences. The lack of broader public awareness can make navigating everyday social interactions and physical spaces challenging.
In a separate medical development, reports previously indicated that a man living in China managed to overcome another highly unusual condition. That rare disease caused the skin on his head to thicken and gather into heavy folds.
The folds on the Chinese man's scalp heavily resembled the natural convolutions of a human brain. The human brain is characterized by its deep ridges and grooves, which increase the surface area for processing information. His successful medical treatment took a total of 11 months to complete.
