Doctors in Pakistan have been faced with finding the source of a very strange malady. Two young brothers, Abdul Rasheed and Shoaib Ahmed, aged 9 and 13, laugh and play like other children during the daytime. But when the evening comes, and the sun goes down, they are plagued by a mysterious paralysis, unable to eat, talk or move. The Daily Mail reports:

“The brothers … have been dubbed ‘the solar kids’ as their parents claim they get their energy from the sun. The case has baffled doctors who have no idea what is causing their symptoms. Javed Akram, a professor of medicine at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, who is treating them, said: ‘We took this case as a challenge.”

And a challenge it is. The parents have a theory that their children are completely dependent from the energy of the sun. Other interested parties have theorized this reaction could be from harmful chemical and toxins, or even a self-hypnotic response from childhood trauma. No one knows for sure, as Odditycentral.com reports:

“The boys, who come from an impoverished family in a village in Pakistan’s Balochistan Province, are currently undergoing extensive medical treatment in the nation’s capital, Islamabad. The government is providing them with free medical care, and their blood samples are being analyzed for clues regarding their condition. Samples have also been sent to overseas specialists in the hopes of finding some clues that Pakistani doctors missed.

“Javed Akram, a professor of medicine at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) who is currently trying to help the two kids, is struggling to find an explanation for their bizarre symptoms … ‘Our doctors are doing medical tests to determine why these kids remain active in the day but cannot open their eyes, why they cannot talk or eat when the sun goes down.’

“Interestingly, Shoaib and Abdul’s parents are first cousins, and some doctors believe that this could be one of the potential explanations for the boys’ illness, especially since another one of their four children, a one year old boy, appears to be suffering from the same condition.”

Since hospitalization, the boys have improved. Considering that they come from a very poor neighborhood, and most likely have nutritional deficiencies, one wonders if the increase in good food and tender concern for these two young ones had a hand in those improvements. The boys have even expressed an interest in having a productive future and a long life, as reported by Odditycentral.com:

“Although doctors have no clue about the cause behind the boys’ illness, there has been a marked improvement in their condition ever since they were admitted at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, in Islamabad. Express News reported that they actually moved around at night for the very first time, a few days ago. But Shoaib and Abdul are hoping for a full recovery, and have grand plans for the future. ‘I will become a teacher,’ Shoaib said, while Abdul wants to become an Islamic scholar.”

(Photo credit: Odditycentral.com)

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

Science.NaturalNews.com

OddityCentral.com

FoodForensics.com

YouTube.com