| disease, keshan | Condition caused by deficiency of the essential mineral selenium. Keshan disease is a potentially fatal form of cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle). It was first observed in Keshan province in China and since has been found elsewhere (including New Zealand and Finland) in areas where the selenium level in the soil is low. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| disease, kissing | Infectious mononucleosis ( mono ), a very common illness caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). By the time most people reach adulthood, an antibody against EBV can be detected in their blood meaning they have been infected with EBV. The illness is less severe in young children. The infection can be spread by saliva. Hence, the name: the kissing disease. The incubation period for mono is 4 to 8 weeks. Symptoms include fever, fatigue, sore throat, and swollen lymph glands. Mono can cause liver inflammation (hepatitis) and spleen enlargement. Vigorous contact sports should be avoided to prevent spleen rupture. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, legg | See Disease, Legg-Perthes. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, legg-calve-perthes | See Disease, Legg-Perthes. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, legg-perthes | A hip disorder in children due to interruption of the blood supply to the head of the femur (the ball in the ball-and-sockethip joint). Also called Legg disease and Legg-Calve-Perthes disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, legionaire's | A disease (first identified at the 1976 American Legion convention) due to bacteria (Legionella) found in plumbing, shower heads and water-storage tanks. Outbreaks of Legionella pneumonia have been attributed to evaporative condensors and cooling towers. Legionaire's disease causes a cough, often non-productive, with fevers and a general sense of feeling unwell. Blood testing for antibodies to the bacteria and sputum analysis can aid in the diagnosis of Legionaire's disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, lipid storage | A series of disorders due to inborn errors in lipid metabolism resulting in the abnormal accumulation of lipids in the wrong places (Examples include Gaucher, Fabry and Niemann-Pick diseases and metachromatic leukodystrophy). (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, manic-depressive | See Manic-depression. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, maple syrup urine | Hereditary disease due to deficiency of an enzyme involved in amino acid metabolism, characterised by urine that smells like maple syrup. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, mitochondrial | Mutations (changes) in the mitochondrial chromosome are responsible for a number of disorders including an eye disease (Leber's hereditary optic atrophy), a type of epilepsy (called MERRF which stands for Myoclonus Epilepsy with Ragged Red Fibres), and a cause of dementia (called MELAS for Mitochondrial Encephalopathy, Lactic Acidosis and Stroke-like episodes). All mitochondrial diseases were entirely enigmatic before it was discovered that they were due to mutations not in regular chromosomes but the mitochondrial chromosome. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, ovarian, polycystic | See Disease, polycystic ovarian. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, paget's | A condition of unknown cause in which the bone formation is out of synchrony with normal bone remodeling. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, parkinson's | An abnormal condition of the nervous system caused by degeneration of an area of the brain called the basal ganglia. The disease results in rigidity of the muscles, slow body movement and tremor. Parkinson's disease is also called paralysis agitans and shaking palsy. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, parry's | Toxic multinodular goiter, a condition in which the thyroid gland contains multiple lumps (nodules) that are overactive and produce excess thyroid hormones. This condition is also known as Plummer's disease. (12 Dec 1998) |
| disease, pelvic inflammatory | Despite its seeming lack of gender, this term is applied to women only. PID refers exclusively to ascending infection of the female genital tract above the cervix. (12 Dec 1998) |