REDUCTION OF GENITAL SYNDROME

Also known as koro, this mental disorder leaves one convinced that their genitals are disappearing. Most cases have been reported so far in Asia or Africa, and in many of them the syndrome appears to be contagious! One of the strangest episodes occurred in Singapore in 1967, when the local health service recorded hundreds of cases of men who believed that their penis was fading. A single case of genital syndrome reduction was recorded in Brazil today at the Institute of Psychiatry at USP. Convinced that his penis was fading, the patient tried to kill himself with two stab wounds in the abdomen!