Five siblings have been cruelly branded as ‘aliens’ due to a mysterious condition that gives them unusual facial features.
Doctors are baffled by the condition, which causes wide eyes, overgrown cheekbones, nose bumps and uneven teeth.
Isaias, Graciosa, Preciosa, Antonio and Miguelina Bautista all suffer from the disease, but their seven siblings do not.
Since childhood, they have been ridiculed, cruelly ridiculed and even told that they are aliens.
“At one point we even started to believe in it,” says Isaia. “People would say that’s what we were like, aliens.
“Later we found good people who told us: No, you are human.”
In addition to their facial differences, Isaias, Graciosa, Preciosa, Antonio and Miguelina suffer from headaches, breathing difficulties, dizziness and body pain.
The siblings come from a poor family in the small community of Jinova de San Juan in the Dominican Republic and struggle to find work because employers discriminate against them based on their appearance.
They also struggled to get a diagnosis for their condition, which doctors believe is leontiasis, but were unable to provide a definitive answer.
Leontiasis, commonly called lion face syndrome, is an overgrowth of the skull and facial bones that results in a lion-like appearance.
Neurologist Dr. Franly Vazquez describes it as a “very rare disease with fewer than 40 reported cases worldwide.”
“Affected patients have a buildup of calcium in the bones that form the face and skull,” he added.
The uncontrolled growth of the Bautista siblings’ facial bones can severely compress the nerves and lead to blindness, hearing loss, mental retardation and other setbacks.
Dr. Vazquez even finds it unbelievable that the siblings are still alive.
He told local media: “Unfortunately there is no treatment to cure this disease – treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms.”
The only available treatment is to expose the overgrown bone and cut off parts of it, or, if possible, cut off the whole thing.
The Bautista siblings are looking for donations as they fight for a diagnosis and treatment.
Author: Katherine Fidler
Source: Metro
Source: Metro
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