Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body attacks its own cells. Autoimmune diseases are a major cause of immune-mediated diseases, and are…
Lactose intolerance is the inability to metabolize lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products, because the required enzyme lactase is absent in the intestinal system or its availability is lowered. Some people also mention pasteurized dairy products…
An aneurysm (or aneurism) is a localized, blood-filled dilation (balloon-like bulge) of a blood vessel caused by disease or weakening of the vessel wall. Aneurysms most commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain (the circle of Willis)…
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is the condition of having a low platelet count (thrombocytopenia) of no known cause (idiopathic). As most causes appear to be related to antibodies against platelets, it is also known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura. Although most…
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus, pronounced /s??st?m?k ?lu?p?s ??r??θim??to?s?s/) is a chronic autoimmune disease that can be fatal, though with recent medical advances, fatalities are becoming increasingly rare. As with other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body’s…
Varicose veins are veins that have become enlarged and twisted. Carl Arnold Ruge is credited with having first defined varicose veins as “any dilated, elongated and tortuous vein irrespective of size”. The term commonly refers to the veins on the…
Hodgkin’s lymphoma, also known as Hodgkin’s disease, is a type of lymphoma first described by Thomas Hodgkin in 1832. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is characterized clinically by the orderly spread of disease from one lymph node group to another and by the…
Sjögren’s syndrome is an autoimmune disorder in which immune cells attack and destroy the exocrine glands that produce tears and saliva. It is named after Swedish ophthalmologist Henrik Sjögren (1899-1986), who first described it. Sjögren’s syndrome is also associated with…
Muscular dystrophy refers to a group of genetic, hereditary muscle diseases that cause progressive muscle weakness.[1][2] Muscular dystrophies are characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, defects in muscle proteins, and the death of muscle cells and tissue.[3] Nine diseases including…
Leukemia or leukaemia (Greek leukos λευκ?ς, “white”; aima α?μα, “blood”) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow and is characterized by an abnormal proliferation (production by multiplication) of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). Leukemia is a…