The human body is an amazing thing, isn’t it? It has the ability to heal itself, create new life, and digest entire turkey dinners. But this incredible machine doesn’t always perform perfectly. Sometimes there’s a genetic anomaly that causes a problem, or sometimes a virus or bacteria can invade and make the whole thing go all wacky. The marvelous human machine can harbor almost an infinite number of maladies. While the diseases below are certainly nothing to take lightly, they are interesting conditions that you may not have ever heard of.

capgras delusion

Capgras Delusion: This condition leads it sufferers to believe that a close friend, relative, or spouse has been replaced by a lookalike. It usually occurs in patients who suffer from schizophrenia, but has also been observed in patients who are suffering from dementia and brain damage. In some cases, the patient decreases or breaks off contact with the person they believe has been replaced.

prosopagnosia

Prosopagnosia: A similar condition to Capgras Delusion, prosopagnosia affects a person’s ability to recognize faces. In this condition, however, sufferers can not recognize any faces at all. They are still able to recognize other types of objects, but faces - even their own - do not register in their minds. This condition is often the result of brain injury, but new evidence suggests that some people are born with the inability to recognize faces.

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