Spain to her rescue: Shalini Yadav, a teenager from Chhatarpur district in Madhya Pradesh, and afflicted with a rare disorder, lamellar ichthyosis (fish-like scales), from birth, is to undergo treatment for free at a hospital in the Spanish city of Málaga. A report on her plight appeared across world media and and a few Indian journalists and fund-raisers played a crucial role in facilitating her treatment. The girl is now at Hospital Universitario Virgen de la Victoria. Lamellar ichthyosis is a condition that mainly aects the skin. Infants with this condition are typically born with a tight, clear sheath covering their skin called a collodion membrane. Such people have large, dark, plate-like scales. Affected infants could develop infections, an excessive loss of fluids (dehydration), and respiratory problems. These individuals may also have hair loss, abnormally formed fingernails and toenails, a decreased ability to sweat, an increased sensitivity to heat, and a thickening of the skin on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. * AFP
