A strange disease turned half of a Dominican family into aliens (7 photos)

Humanity does not have time to deal with epidemics alone, and higher powers present doctors with new mysteries.





According to the Daily Star, five of the 12 siblings from the province of San Juan are suffering from the same strange manifestations of the mysterious disease. They were bullied so much from childhood that the poor things actually began to believe in alien theories.



A Dominican family has become known as aliens after a strange disease left their faces swollen and disfigured. The disease significantly enlarged my cheekbones, nose, and made my eyes widen. Remarkably, the remaining brothers and sisters were not injured.

Health experts are scratching their heads, wondering what caused such strange symptoms in Isaias, Graciosa, Preciosa, Antonio and Miguelina Bautista. All five have been like this since childhood.



Because of their deformity, they had to face ridicule, cruel insults and humiliation, and even claims that they were aliens. Isaias shared:

At some point we even began to believe in it. People said that we were just like them, aliens. Then there were kind people who told us: “No, you are people.”



In addition to facial deformities, the siblings suffer from headaches, difficulty breathing, dizziness and body aches. Even though they are desperate for work, they find it difficult to find one because employers discriminate against them based on their appearance.

In addition, they had difficulty obtaining even a preliminary diagnosis of their disease, which, as doctors suggest, is leontiasis. But this is only an assumption, since no one has been able to make an accurate diagnosis.



Patients suffering from leontiasis

Leontiasis is often called lion face syndrome. This disease manifests itself with symptoms such as excessive growth of the cranial and facial bones, leading to the appearance of a lion-like appearance. Neurologist Dr. Franly Vasquez describes it as “a very rare disease, with no more than 40 cases reported worldwide.”



As a result of excess levels of calcium in the bones that form the skull, patients experience uncontrolled growth of facial bones. Because of this, the nerves are severely compressed, causing vision loss, hearing loss, mental retardation and other problems.

There is no cure for leontiasis. Existing therapeutic methods are aimed only at mitigating symptoms and improving general condition. Moreover, in principle, it is amazing that boys and girls with such a disease even survived to adulthood.



The only existing treatment is to expose the overgrown bone, break off pieces, or completely excise it if possible. The Bautista siblings are seeking donations. Dominicans living on the brink of poverty are unable to pay for an accurate diagnosis and treatment on their own.