Cyclopia, with its incredible details, is extremely rare. Experts on the subject are still searching for answers to some questions about this disease.
So what is cyclopy and what causes it, let’s take a closer look.
Cyclopia is a rare birth defect that occurs when the left and right parts of the brain are not separated.
The most noticeable symptom of this condition is a single eye or a partially split eye structure. Babies with cyclopy usually do not have a nose, but during pregnancy the baby may develop a nose-like proboscis, sometimes over the eye. Pretty interesting isn’t it?
This birth defect unfortunately results in a large number of miscarriages or death. If the baby is born this way, the chances of survival are only a few hours. Cyclopia occurs in approximately 1 in 100,000 newborns and can occur in animals as well as humans. Unfortunately, no cure for cyclopy has been found so far.
So what causes this situation?
Although it has not been determined exactly why cyclopy occurs, experts state that there are several conditions that can trigger this ailment. One of the possible risk factors is gestational diabetes; the other is the mother’s exposure to chemicals.
Experts have considered maternal exposure to certain harmful chemicals and toxins in the past to be among the top causes of Cyclopia, but later it was concluded that these exposures were not associated with a higher risk of Cyclopia.
In fact, one-third of babies with cyclopsy carry various abnormalities in their chromosomes. In a way, different changes are detected in certain genes. These changes cause proteins and genes to act outside of the expected, greatly hindering brain formation.
This condition usually develops between the third and fourth weeks of pregnancy and can be detected with the help of ultrasound.
Also, in addition to a single eye, abnormal formations in the brain and internal organs can also be detected by ultrasound. If there are some doubts and ultrasound was insufficient at this point; The doctor may recommend an MRI. As a result of MRI, which does not pose any risk to the mother and the child, it is possible to confirm the suspicions clearly.
A baby with cyclopy usually dies before being born.
The reason for this is that the brain and other organs cannot develop normally. In short, the body of a baby who has been exposed to Cyclopia cannot support the body systems necessary to hold on to life.
Researchers state that in this rare condition, parents have a very high risk of carrying genetic traits. Thus, the risk of encountering cyclopy in the mother’s next pregnancy is quite high. In addition, although it is not clear, there are opinions that this ailment may be hereditary.
There are also many examples of this case.
In 1766, a baby in France opened his eyes to life with Cyclopi and lived only a few hours. Again in Sweden, the child of a 46-year-old woman died 2 hours after birth as a result of this ailment. This child had no nose, no nostrils, and had lidless eyes. He also had curvatures in his ankles and his right foot was completely curved inward.
In 2006, a girl who suffered from this condition was born in India and she had one eye in the middle of her forehead. His brain was undivided into two hemispheres and he had no nose. She died one day after giving birth. Finally, a baby born in Indonesia in 2018 also had no nose and only one eye. He also died about seven hours after birth.
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