Disease Definition And Treatment

Definition Acute pancreatitis refers to an acute inflammatory process of the pancreas, usually accompanied by abdominal pain and elevations of serum pancreatic enzymes. This syndrome is usually a discrete episode, which may cause varying degrees of injury to the pancreas and adjacent and distant organs. The incidence of acute pancreatitis has wide variability within populations, with about 1–5 cases per 10,000 population per year. Eighty percent of the cases in the United States are related to alcohol use or biliary stones. Pancreatitis may be classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on physiological findings, laboratory values, and radiological imaging. Mild disease is not associated with complications or organ dysfunction and recovery is uneventful. In contrast, severe pancreatitis is characterized by pancreatic dysfunction, local and systemic complications, and complicated recovery. In addition, pancreatitis may be further classified into acute interstitial and acute hemorrhagi...

Definition Amyloidosis is a rare and serious protein deposition disease. It is caused by an abnormal protein called amyloid that builds up in tissues or organs. As the number of amyloid protein deposits increase in a tissue or organ, they interfere with the tissue or organ’s healthy function. Eventually, amyloid protein deposits cause symptoms and organ failure. Amyloidosis is sometimes fatal. Amyloid protein deposits, or amyloidosis, may be localized to organs, such as the lung, skin, bladder, or bowel, or they can be systemic. “Systemic” means that the deposits may be found throughout the body. Systemic amyloidosis is the most common. Although amyloidosis is not a type of cancer, it may be associated with certain blood cancers like multiple myeloma. It is a very rare disorder. Because it is such a rare disorder, it has been difficult to study. However, doctors and researchers have begun to understand more about amyloidosis over the past few decades. Research continues to uncover more...

What Is Apraxia? Apraxia is a poorly understood neurological condition. People who have it find it difficult or impossible to make certain motor movements, even though their muscles are normal. Milder forms of apraxia are known as dyspraxia. Apraxia can occur in a number of different forms. One form is orofacial apraxia. People with orofacial apraxia are unable to voluntarily perform certain movements involving facial muscles. For instance, they may not be able to lick their lips or wink. Another form of apraxia affects a person’s ability to intentionally move arms and legs. With apraxia of speech, a person finds it difficult or impossible to move his or her mouth and tongue to speak. This happens, even though the person has the desire to speak and the mouth and tongue muscles are physically able to form words. Types Different types of apraxia affect the body in slightly different ways: Limb-kinetic apraxia People with limb-kinetic apraxia are unable to use a finger, arm, or leg to mak...

Definition Arteriovenous malformation is a congenital disorder (present from birth) characterized by a complex, tangled web of arteries and veins in which there are a short circuit and high pressure due to arterial blood flowing rapidly in the veins. An AVM may occur in the brain, brainstem or spinal cord. The most common symptoms of an AVM include hemorrhaging (bleeding), seizures, headaches and neurological problems such as paralysis or loss of speech, memory or vision. AVMs that bleed can lead to serious neurological problems and sometimes death. Still, some people have AVMs that never cause problems. Arteriovenous Malformation Epidemiology United States The detection rate in the general population based on prospective data from the New York Islands AVM Study is approximately 1.34 per 100,000 person-years. The prevalence of cerebral AVM in the United States is not known. Given the low threshold for MRI neuroimaging, many patients’ conditions are now discovered before they experience...