Live Desk: A MAN with gnarled, horn-like growths protruding from the side of his head has died at the reported age of 140. The passing of Ali Anter, alleged to be Yemen's oldest man, comes after he gained fame for his odd horns.

Ali, nicknamed 'The Two-Horned', hailed from Al Jawf Governorate. Horn-like growths appeared on either side of his forehead after he turned 100 years old, Yemeni newspaper Aden al-Ghad reported. As one of them grew, it curled like the horn of a goat. It was so large by the time of his passing that it was level with his mouth.

Ali is reported to have died three days after the filming of this video showing an apparently untrained individual trying to sever the large growth with a red-hot instrument.

The clip is reported to have been posted by his relatives. A family member is said to have claimed that Ali died from the deterioration of his physical and mental health brought on by old age.

But, the relative is alleged to have said, the crude amputation of his growth may have hastened his demise. Local media report that Ali remained in robust health and retained his memory until around 2017, when his condition began to deteriorate.

He is claimed to have had more than 70 grandchildren. CEN has not been able to independently verify the claims.

The growths protruding from Ali's forehead may have been cutaneous horns. Cutaneous horns are skin tumours that are made of keratin the same protein which makes up hair, nails and hooves.

They arise from benign, premalignant, or malignant skin lesions, and are more common in older patients and people with fairer skins.In some cases, they are associated with exposure to the sun and other sources of UV radiation.

A famous case is that of Madame Dimanche (Widow Sunday), a French woman living in Paris in the early 19th century. At the age of 76, she began to grow a 24.9cm horn from her forehead before it was successfully removed by a French surgeon.

A 74-year-old Indian farmer hit his head and began growing a massive cutaneous horn. Most of the growths are benign, but they're sometimes cancerous or precancerous and need to be treated and they can crop up in different places around the body — including the penis.

Before Ali's passing, Guinness World Records listed the world's oldest living person as 128-year-old South African woman Johanna Mazibuko. Maria passed away earlier this month, after living through two world wars, Spanish Flu - and even the coronavirus pandemic.

Dhaka, 17 March (campuslive24.com)//ssm