Woman grows 6cm horn on forehead

RIGHT: Zhang Ruifang says the growth appeared last year. (Austal/Rex Features)

11:00 AEST Tue Mar 9 2010
By ninemsn staff

A 101-year-old woman in China has baffled doctors after growing a huge goat-like horn on her forehead.

Zhang Ruifang claims the growth first appeared only last year and has since expanded to be more than 6cm long, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reports.

PHOTOS: Woman's horn stuns family

Now her family in Linlou, Henan province, are concerned about a second mark on the other side of her forehead.

"[At first] we didn’t pay too much attention to it," said Mrs Zhang’s youngest son Zhang Guozheng.

"Now something is also growing on the right side of her forehead — it’s quite possible that it’s another horn."

Mrs Zhang’s growth has not been officially diagnosed but the newspaper said it was most likely an extreme version of a cutaneous horn.

Cutaneous horns are made up of keratin — the protein found in fingernails — and are typically seen in elderly people who have had prolonged exposure to sunlight.

But the growths are usually only a few millimetres in length.

Cutaneous horns can be surgically removed but there is no way to cure the condition, meaning they may grow back.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/1025048/woman-grows-6cm-horn-on-forehead
(Submitted by Simon Reames)