Hypertrichosis (sometimes known as werewolf syndrome or Ambras syndrome) is an abnormal amount of hair growth over the body. Four of his seven children were also afflicted with hypertrichosis and painted.

Barbara van Beck

Barbara van Beck (1629–1668?) is one of the first people to be depicted with Ambras syndrome. She was the only member of her family with the condition. She travelled around Europe, living in court and appearing before the nobility in cities such as London and Paris.

The hairy family of Burma

One record in history concerning congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa is the hairy family of Burma, a four-generational pedigree of the condition. In 1826, John Crawford was leading a mission for the Governor-General of India through Burma. (; born August 5, 2000),

Etymology

Origin of the word hypertrichosis is in Greek roots (hyper-, ʽexcessʼ; trikhos, hair and -osis, ʽformationʼ) and means a disorder that causes excessive hair growth over the body. Medieval sources do not use this term, instead preferring hairy men and women. These men and women are often mistaken for savages, who similarly have excessive hair, but hairy and savage individuals belong to different categories, since savagery is associated with social or religious isolation. Having exceptional strength, they are deemed closer to the animal than to the human plane. On the contrary, hairy men and women with hypertrichosis are not necessarily isolated and they often live in courts as entertainers, together with other monster-like subjects.

History

thumb|Portrait of [[Antonietta Gonsalvus known as Tognina.]]

The first recorded case of hypertrichosis was Petrus Gonsalvus who was born in the Canary Islands.

In animals

In 1955, a female Müller's Bornean gibbon was obtained from Sarawak that exhibited abnormal hair growth in the facial region. It has been hypothesized that this could be due to facial hypertrichosis.

Hypertrichosis (often mistakenly classified as hirsutism) is a well documented condition in horses with a hormonal disorder of the hypothalamus, called Cushing's disease. It is the most common endocrine disease of the middle-aged to older horse, often resulting in fatal laminitis. It can be successfully controlled by medications if diagnosed early.

See also

  • Jesús Aceves, the first person with hypertrichosis to perform in the UK in thirty years.
  • Stephan Bibrowski (1891–1932), known as Lionel the Lion-faced Man.
  • Krao Farini (1876–1926), known as The Missing Link.
  • Fedor Jeftichew (1868–1904), known as Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy.
  • Human Nature, a 2001 American-French film where one of the main characters has hypertrichosis.
  • Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus, a 2006 American film where one of the main characters has hypertrichosis.
  • Milo, a 2012 (Netherlands) movie about a 10-year-old boy with 'hypersensitive skin'.
  • Moon of Desire, a 2014 Filipino TV drama with a girl that has hypertrichosis as the main protagonist.
  • The True Adventures of Wolfboy, a 2019 Drama Movie about a 13-year-old boy that has hypertrichosis.

References

  • The Hairy Family of Burma