Half Man, Half Tree - All Curiosity
Curiosity. That's why carnival sideshows attract people. They hook you with something so bizarre, so unbelievable that you cannot walk away. Good news, we're not talking about two-headed goats; rather a medical curiosity involving a very common condition complicated by very rare genes.
This is Dede, a 35 year-old fisherman living in remote Indonesia.
Besides the numerous large plaques on his skin Dede 's extremities have developed large, claw-like growths. It kinda reminds me of the Wolverine character from the fictional X-Men.
An American TV production company arranged for Dede to receive on site consultation from Dr. Anthony Gaspari, an expert dermatologist from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (pictured alongside Dede).
After an examination and some lab studies Dr. Gaspari confirmed that Dede has an unusual (and untreated) case of runaway warts. Yes, warts!
Here's what happened. Like all of us, at some point earlier in life Dede came in contact with human papilloma virus (HPV), the ubiquitous virus responsible for the common skin wart (official terminology verruca vulgaris). Most of the time folks get one wart at a time, right? Dede, however, is different than most other people. Because of a serious genetic defect Dede's immune system was unable to defend his skin from the proliferating virus and so it showered his complete body with those large, ugly bumps.
Leave a wart alone long enough and the infected skin cells start making keratin, the same material that makes your fingernails rigid. We call these growths 'cutaneous horns'. In time they become large, curly appendages. Years of neglect resulted in the hideous appearance of Dede's extremities. As you can imagine, the worse the growths got, the more society rejected him, leaving him with a lonely life and the option to work in a circus side show.
Liquid nitrogen won't help much here. This is going to need a world-class manicure and pedicure! Dr. Gaspari is optimistic that high doses of Vitamin A will fire-up Dede's skin so it will eventually shed the horns and allow the skin to rid itself of HPV. Additional surgery can help Dede regain use of his hands and feet. Things should be much improved in about a year.
As an ophthalmologist I would caution Dede to be very careful whenever taking lots of Vitamin A because it can be toxic to the retina. Periodic blood measurements and color vision testing are good ways to monitor for any toxicity. Certain strains of HPV can provoke sun-induced skin changes that can transform into malignant squamous carcinoma. Given his tropical locale Dede ought to be applying lots of sunblock throughout the day.
I'll be eager to see how Dede responds to treatment. Audiences love extreme makeovers. Hopefully the TV crew will return to Dede's village to capture his recovery and return to his society.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: HPV, Vitamin A, warts, genetics, Dede, vision
Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel and Dr. Gaspari. Used with permission
Besides the numerous large plaques on his skin Dede 's extremities have developed large, claw-like growths. It kinda reminds me of the Wolverine character from the fictional X-Men.
An American TV production company arranged for Dede to receive on site consultation from Dr. Anthony Gaspari, an expert dermatologist from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (pictured alongside Dede).
After an examination and some lab studies Dr. Gaspari confirmed that Dede has an unusual (and untreated) case of runaway warts. Yes, warts!
Here's what happened. Like all of us, at some point earlier in life Dede came in contact with human papilloma virus (HPV), the ubiquitous virus responsible for the common skin wart (official terminology verruca vulgaris). Most of the time folks get one wart at a time, right? Dede, however, is different than most other people. Because of a serious genetic defect Dede's immune system was unable to defend his skin from the proliferating virus and so it showered his complete body with those large, ugly bumps.
Leave a wart alone long enough and the infected skin cells start making keratin, the same material that makes your fingernails rigid. We call these growths 'cutaneous horns'. In time they become large, curly appendages. Years of neglect resulted in the hideous appearance of Dede's extremities. As you can imagine, the worse the growths got, the more society rejected him, leaving him with a lonely life and the option to work in a circus side show.
Liquid nitrogen won't help much here. This is going to need a world-class manicure and pedicure! Dr. Gaspari is optimistic that high doses of Vitamin A will fire-up Dede's skin so it will eventually shed the horns and allow the skin to rid itself of HPV. Additional surgery can help Dede regain use of his hands and feet. Things should be much improved in about a year.
As an ophthalmologist I would caution Dede to be very careful whenever taking lots of Vitamin A because it can be toxic to the retina. Periodic blood measurements and color vision testing are good ways to monitor for any toxicity. Certain strains of HPV can provoke sun-induced skin changes that can transform into malignant squamous carcinoma. Given his tropical locale Dede ought to be applying lots of sunblock throughout the day.
I'll be eager to see how Dede responds to treatment. Audiences love extreme makeovers. Hopefully the TV crew will return to Dede's village to capture his recovery and return to his society.
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: HPV, Vitamin A, warts, genetics, Dede, vision
Photo courtesy of Discovery Channel and Dr. Gaspari. Used with permission
11 Comments:
Wow, poor guy! I hope he gets relief SOON from them warts! That is awful, and very scary! Please keep us informed on his recovery process. I wish you luck Dede! xoxoxDonna
Oh,God why him?So Drs what are you going to do to him?pleasea let us know his progress.We will pray for him and we believe God will do someting for him.Frank MUHAS,Tanzania.
I watched the show. I thought they said that he did not participate in the treatment (or turned it down)? Does anyone have an update?
Like you, I watched the show. My understanding is that he chose, for some reason I'm not aware of, to decline treatment at the time. I wonder whether he's afraid he'll be unable to work as his
appearance begins to improve? I hope that he does elect to pursue treatment soon since he and his family have already suffered far more than anyone should ever have to.
I pray for him and his family.
i would really love to hear an update on Dede's condition. I watched the show and am very intrigued to see how he is doing and if the treatment is working. This post is dated 2/21/08. thank you :)
I saw the show as well. He did decline the treatment, and we all have to remember that Dede makes his living by the way that he looks. He is malnourished because of his disease, and soon he can get worse, and possibly lose his life. I will continue to pray for him, and the doctor that wants to help him. I would love to see a part 2 on him. Roe, Miami FL
I watched the show a couple of days ago, and was very intrigued, i wish he did take the treatment, and showed his progress. After two days, his name just popped up in my head, and I had to check online and was suprised on how much people were interested in this. His name will forever be with me. Hope he gets the treatment he deserves and he has the courage to go through with it.
No, the TV company said he'd declined the treatment. Maybe they should have waited a bit - he's getting it now:
Hmm. Bit of dramatic license there with the TV programme. He's being treated with the retinoid drug + surgery http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/04/11/wtreeman111.xml
please any updates.....may 2008
i want to know if he decided to have treatment or not?
anyone know please?????
Tree Man story… from 18th April.
He has had an operation, 4lbs of warts have been removed. He can use his hands. He does suduko puzzles. He is looking for a bride. He can walk without pain. He can wear flip-flops!
The reason he was operated on and not given medicine like that Dr Gaspari was saying... The article says this something about a "dispute about authorisation with the Indonesian government..." and "Dr Gaspari is hoping to get expensive anti-viral medicine available only in the US."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1895809/'Tree-man'-regains-use-of-hands-New-pictures.html
Posted: 29th May, 2008
Anyone happen to know if any of his friends from "the clan", who DeDe performed with, were able to get any help as well? Some of them looked even worse off.
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