Fedor Jeftichew ("Jo-Jo the Dog-faced Man"), Stephan Bibrowski ("Lionel the Lion-faced Man"), Jesús "Chuy" Aceves ("Wolfman"), Annie Jones ("the bearded woman") and Alice Elizabeth Doherty ("The Minnesota Woolly Girl") all had hypertrichosis. Extensive hypertrichosis carries an emotional burden and can cause cosmetic embarrassment; however, some people attempt no treatments because they say it defines who they are. The Gonsalvus family
Petrus Gonsalvus (1537–1618) was referred to by Italian naturalist Ulisse Aldrovandi as "the man of the woods". 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 disease. In 1826, John Crawford was leading a mission for the Governor-General of India through Burma. He tells of meeting a hairy man, Shwe-Maong. Shwe-Maong lived in the court of King Ava and acted as an entertainer. Shwe-Maong had four children: three unaffected children, and one child with congenital hypertrichosis, named Maphoon. On a second mission to Ava, Maphoon was described as a thirty-year-old woman with two sons, one of which had hypertrichosis. The affected son was named Maong-Phoset. He had an affected daughter named Mah-Me.
Periorbital sensory loss and impaired corneal reflex may be noted. Papilledema, retinal hemorrhages, and decreased visual acuity and blindness may occur from venous congestion within the retina. Fever, tachycardia and sepsis may be present. Headache with nuchal rigidity (neck stiffness) may occur. One or both pupils may be dilated and sluggishly reactive. Infection can spread to contralateral cavernous sinus within 24–48 hours of initial presentation. Cause
Septic CST most commonly results from contiguous spread of infection from a nasal furuncle (50%), sphenoidal or ethmoidal sinuses (30%) and dental infections (10%). Less common primary sites of infection include tonsils, soft palate, middle ear, or orbit (orbital cellulitis). The highly anastomotic venous system of the paranasal sinuses allows retrograde spread of infection to the cavernous sinus via the superior and inferior ophthalmic veins. It was previously thought that veins in the area were valveless and that this was the major cause of the retrograde spread, but studies have since shown that the ophthalmic and facial veins are not valveless.Staphylococcus aureus is the most common infectious microbe, found in 70% of the cases. Streptococcus is the second leading cause. Gram-negative rods and anaerobes may also lead to cavernous sinus thrombosis. Rarely, Aspergillus fumigatus and mucormycosis cause CST.Aseptic cavernous sinus thrombosis is much less common and is usually associated with other disorders including trauma, circulatory problems, nasopharynx cancers and other tumors of the skull base, dehydration, and anemia. Diagnosis
The diagnosis of cavernous sinus thrombosis is made clinically, with imaging studies to confirm the clinical impression.