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Once thought to have neurofibromatosis, Joseph Merrick (also known as "the elephant man") is now, in retrospect, thought by clinical experts to have had Proteus syndrome. This endocrine disease causes continued and abnormal growth of the bones, muscles, skin, and so on and can become completely debilitating with severe deformities occurring anywhere on the body.
More than one-third of adult Americans are obese. Diseases that kill the largest number of people annually, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, and hypertension, can be attributed to diet.
The immune system needs 9.5 hours of sleep in total darkness to recharge completely.
Approximately 500,000 babies are born each year in the United States to teenage mothers.
Aspirin is the most widely used drug in the world. It has even been recognized as such by the Guinness Book of World Records.