西班牙多名嬰兒出現(xiàn)奇怪的“狼人綜合癥”

西班牙多名嬰兒出現(xiàn)奇怪的“狼人綜合癥”

Spanish pharmaceutical manufacturer Farma-Química Sur is facing trial for their role in an outbreak of unusual hair growth in infants across the country.

西班牙制藥商Farma-Quimica Sur因其在全國嬰兒異常毛發(fā)生長中所起的作用而面臨審判。

Parents feared the worst when their children developed a condition informally referred to as 'werewolf syndrome' as a result of drinking a medicated syrup produced by the company.

家長們最擔(dān)心的是，他們的孩子因?yàn)楹攘嗽摴旧a(chǎn)的藥物糖漿，而患上了一種非正式的“狼人綜合癥”。

More appropriately known as hypertrichosis, the condition is characterised by thicker, denser patterns of body hair sprouting from areas of the body usually covered by a finer fuzz.

更確切地說，這種疾病被稱為多毛癥，其特征是身體毛發(fā)較厚、較密集，從身體通常被較細(xì)的絨毛覆蓋的部位長出。

Historically, people with more extreme versions of the rare trait attracted the sort of attention that would get them ostracised and outcast, or ending up in side-shows under unflattering descriptions as wolf-children.

從歷史上看，具有這種罕見特征的極端版本的人吸引了人們的注意，這種關(guān)注會(huì)讓他們被排斥，或者最終在《狼孩》這樣的書中被冷嘲熱諷地描述為配角。

Times may have changed, but for the concerned parents, drastic hair growth in a baby can still come as quite the shock.

時(shí)代也許已經(jīng)改變了，但對(duì)于憂心忡忡的父母來說，嬰兒頭發(fā)的急劇生長仍然會(huì)讓他們感到相當(dāng)震驚。

"My son's forehead, cheeks, arms and legs, hands became covered in hair," mother Ángela Selles told the Spanish daily newspaper, El País.

“我兒子的前額，臉頰，胳膊和腿，手上都長滿了頭發(fā)。”母親昂格拉·賽爾斯對(duì)西班牙日?qǐng)?bào)說。

"He had the eyebrows of an adult. It was very scary because we didn't know what was happening to him."

“他有著成年人的眉毛。很可怕，因?yàn)槲覀儾恢浪l(fā)生了什么。”

Selles' six-month-old son was just one of 17 babies diagnosed with an acquired form of hypertrichosis in recent months across the regions of Cantabria, Valencia, Andalusia, and Granada.

最近幾個(gè)月，在坎塔布里亞、瓦倫西亞、安達(dá)盧西亞和格拉納達(dá)地區(qū)，塞拉斯僅僅6個(gè)月大的兒子，是17個(gè)被診斷患有后天性多毛癥的嬰兒之一。

Degrees of excess hair growth can run in families as a genetic trait, but this congenital form of the condition is usually fairly clear from birth. So, when children close to two years of age were being reported with thickened patches of hair on areas such as their face, Spain's health regulator AEMPS opened an investigation to trace the cause.

毛發(fā)過度生長的程度可以作為一種遺傳特征在家族中運(yùn)行，但這種先天性的疾病通常從出生起就相當(dāng)明顯。因此，當(dāng)接近兩歲的兒童被報(bào)告在面部等部位出現(xiàn)濃密的毛發(fā)時(shí)，西班牙的健康監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)AEMPS展開了一項(xiàng)調(diào)查，以追蹤原因。

It didn't take officials long to find the infants had something in common – all were being treated with a medication for acid reflux called omeprazole.

工作人員很快就發(fā)現(xiàn)這些嬰兒有一些共同點(diǎn)——他們都在接受一種叫做奧美拉唑的治療胃酸倒流的藥物治療。

The only problem is omeprazole isn't known for causing excess hair growth. So inspectors were sent to the factory where the drug originated to see if they could work out what was going on.

唯一的問題是奧美拉唑不會(huì)導(dǎo)致毛發(fā)過度生長。因此，檢查人員被派往藥品的生產(chǎn)廠，看看他們能否查出發(fā)生了什么。

"The original shipment of bulk omeprazole from India was analysed and the results showed that it was in perfect condition," Spanish health regulators told El País.

西班牙衛(wèi)生監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)告訴El-PA_s說：“對(duì)從印度運(yùn)來的散裝奧美拉唑進(jìn)行了分析，結(jié)果表明，奧美拉唑完好無損。”

"The problem was when it was divided into small batches that were later also sold in bulk."

“問題是，當(dāng)它被分成小批量，后來也批量銷售。”

Somewhere in the process, bottles containing a different drug, minoxidil - commonly used to treat hair-loss conditions such as male pattern baldness and alopecia - ended up receiving the omeprazole label and being sold as such.

在這個(gè)過程中的某個(gè)地方，含有不同藥物的瓶子——米諾地爾-通常用于治療脫發(fā)情況，如男性型禿頭和脫發(fā)——最終收到了奧美拉唑標(biāo)簽，并以此出售。

AEMPS directed the company to withdraw one of the batches of the medication back in July, but has since closed the factory for failure to comply with standards on drug production.

美國藥品監(jiān)督管理局(AEMPS)在7月份指示該公司撤回其中一批藥物，但因不符合藥品生產(chǎn)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)而關(guān)閉了工廠。

If Farma-Química Sur doesn't clean up its act within the next six months, the company could have its license to produce and distribute pharmaceuticals revoked.

如果Farma Qu_mica Sur在未來六個(gè)月內(nèi)不清理其行為，該公司可能會(huì)吊銷其生產(chǎn)和銷售藥品的許可證。

Meanwhile, families are still less than impressed, with four having launched criminal proceedings against the company for the mix up. A public prosecution case is also underway.

與此同時(shí)，受害家庭不會(huì)就此放手，其中四個(gè)已經(jīng)對(duì)公司提起了刑事訴訟。一個(gè)公訴案件也在進(jìn)行中。

Fortunately for the children, the medical mishap shouldn't leave them with any long-term health problems.

幸運(yùn)的是，對(duì)孩子們來說，醫(yī)療事故不會(huì)給他們留下任何長期的健康問題。

"They have done several tests and for now the liver is the only thing that is not great, but they have told us that it is not serious and that it will regenerate," says Selles.

賽爾斯表示：“他們做了幾次檢查，目前唯一不太好的是肝臟，但問題不嚴(yán)重，肝臟會(huì)再生。”

As for their body hair, it is also expected to thin out over the coming months.

至于他們的體毛，預(yù)計(jì)在未來幾個(gè)月會(huì)慢慢變少。