Fields condition
{{Short description|Rare neuromuscular disease}}
Fields condition,{{cite web | title=Rare condition named after twins | website=BBC NEWS | date=2005-10-13 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/south_west/4335454.stm | access-date=2024-10-04}} also known as Fields' disease,{{cite journal | title=News from here and there | first=Maharra | last=Hussein | journal=The National Medical Journal of India | volume=30 | date=2017-02-28 | issn=0970-258X | url=https://nmji.in/news-from-here-and-there-8/ | access-date=2024-10-04 | page=}}{{cite web | last=Ribbink | first=Kim | title=Rare Disease Day Turns Spotlight on Research | website=PharmaVoice | date=2017-02-01 | url=https://www.pharmavoice.com/news/2017-2-rare-disease-day/612828/ | access-date=2024-10-04}} is a neuromuscular disease that is considered the rarest medical condition in the world. It was named after Welsh identical twins Catherine and Kirstie Fields, who are two of only three people known to have been affected.{{cite web | last=Siegel-Itzkovich | first=Judy | title=Israeli researchers find possible new therapies for rare neurological disorder | website= The Jerusalem Post | date=2022-05-24 | url=https://www.jpost.com/health-and-wellness/article-707561 | access-date=2024-10-04 | quote=One of them, called Field's Disease, is considered to be the rarest orphan disease, as only three people are known to have ever had it, two of them being the twin sisters Catherine and Kirstie Fields from Wales.}}{{cite web | title=Smile, you're a winner by miles | website=Manchester Evening News | date=2005-10-13 | url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/smile-youre-a-winner-by-miles-1087967 | access-date=2024-10-04}}{{cite web | title=Twins with world's rarest medical condition celebrate 18th birthdays | website=Wales Online | date=2012-09-08 | url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/twins-worlds-rarest-medical-condition-2023713 | access-date=2024-10-04}}
Symptoms
The disease appears to be progressive in nature. It was first noticed around 1998 when the Fields twins were around the age of four. By the time they had reached the age of nine, they were having difficulty walking and needed frames to assist them with walking. Their muscles have been gradually deteriorating over time. The disease affects the twins' nerves, causing involuntary muscle movements such as trembling in the hands. They experience persistent and painful muscle spasms which are worsened by emotional distress. The twins require the use of wheelchairs for mobility and are unable to speak without the assistance of electronic speaking aids. There is no known cure or treatment.{{cite web | last=Pietracci | first=Vittorio | title=Malattie Rare: La Malattia di Fields | website=TAGMEDICINA | date=2020-07-05 | url=https://www.tagmedicina.it/2020/07/05/malattie-rare-la-malattia-fields/ | access-date=2024-10-04}}{{cite web | last=Dicker | first=Ron | title=Paralyzed Twins: Double The Determination | website=HuffPost | date=2012-09-13 | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/identical-twins_n_1880494 | access-date=2024-10-04}}{{cite web | title=RARE DISEASE DAY | website=HealthInsite | url=https://hr.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/content_migration/hr_uct_ac_za/386/files/Awareness_Rare_Disease_Day_ICAS.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241004124839/https://hr.uct.ac.za/sites/default/files/content_migration/hr_uct_ac_za/386/files/Awareness_Rare_Disease_Day_ICAS.pdf | archive-date=2024-10-04 | url-status=dead | access-date=2024-10-04}}
As of 2014, the disease is of unknown etiology.{{cite book | last=Berman | first=Jules J. | title=Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs | publisher=Academic Press | publication-place=Amsterdam Boston | date=2014-06-02 | isbn=978-0-12-419988-0 | page=97 | url=http://ndl.ethernet.edu.et/bitstream/123456789/26169/1/422.pdf}}
The disease has had no apparent effect on the twins' brains or personalities. Doctors do not know if the disease is fatal and, if so, what the life expectancy of one with this disease is. If the cause of the disease is genetic, there is a chance that the twins could pass it on to their future children.
References
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