Argyria causes hair, skin, fingernails, and even eyes to turn silver.
Doctors at Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong were at a loss after examining an 84-year-old man admitted for complications relating to an enlarged prostate. But medical experts weren't perplexed by his prostate issues—they were surprised at the patient's unnaturally silver skin, fingernails, and even whites of his eyes. A subsequent skin biopsy revealed gray granules in the man's blood vessels, sweat gland membranes, hair follicles, and skin fibers. Further blood tests confirmed the hospital staff's suspicion: a silver concentration of 423 nmol/L, over 40 times the normal amount. The octogenarian was suffering from a rare case of generalized argyria, an oftenpermanent condition caused by a buildup of silver in the body. On physical examination, diffuse gray pigmentation of the skin, nails, and sclera was seen. A skin biopsy revealed small, dark granules in sweat glands. Credit: New England Journal of Medicine As Ars Technica explains, the New England Journal of Medicine's recent case report, argyria occurs after a…