Indian Teen Dubbed as the ‘Werewolf Boy’ Seeks Cure for Rare Disease

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Doctors were baffled when they saw Pruthviraj Patil, or now known as the “werewolf boy,” for the first time. The boy’s small body is almost completely covered with hair.

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Pruthviraj suffers a rare genetic condition known as hypertrichosis or the werewolf syndrome ever since he was born. He is believed to be one of only 50 people in the world who contracted the same disease. But despite his physical appearance, Pruthviraj remains healthy and even does sports.

Pruthviraj’s family already tried different means of treatment, including homeopathy, laser surgery, or traditional Indian Ayurvedic remedies, but none of these proved to be helpful. They tried to ask medical professionals if they knew about any permanent cure.

Through his childhood, Pruthviraj is often bullied. He rarely leaves his home in India because he’s afraid to be laughed at.

“When I first went to school I used to get bullied and other children would laugh at me, but now they treat me like normal. We all play cricket together and the hair doesn’t stop me running or catching the ball, so it is not a big problem,” Pruthviraj said.

As the mom of a child with bizarre appearance, Anita was often told that she had just given birth to a god, but there are those who believed that Pruthviraj was a bad omen and a supernatural creature. She admitted that at first, they found it hard to accept their son’s condition.

Plastic surgeon Vinay Saoji said that Pruthviraj is one of the rarest cases he has ever encountered. Hypertrichosis is known for causing hirsutism or abnormal growth of hair on its victims, but having a hair all over the body, just like what happened to Pruthviraj, is uncommon.

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