Disorders and Diseases

SARS: Viral Cause Suspected
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
SARS was first recognized in February 2003 after a sudden outbreak of unexplained pneumonia that affected people in China and several other Asian countries. Symptoms included coughing, fever and shortness of breath.

Smallpox Disease and Vaccine
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The last confirmed case of smallpox in the United States occurred in 1949, and the last naturally occurring case in the world was recorded in Somalia in 1977. Three years later, the World Health Organization declared that smallpox had been eradicated.

Protecting Against West Nile Virus
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Despite the risk of getting WNV through blood products, organs, and breast milk, these forms of transmission appear to be rare, according to the CDC. Bites from mosquitoes carrying WNV remain, by far, the most common means of transmission.

West Nile Virus : Diagnostic and Blood-Screening Tests, Transmission
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
FDA cleared the first commercially available test that will help physicians diagnose cases of potentially deadly WNV earlier than current methods allow. The test, called the IgM Capture ELISA, detects the levels in the blood of a particular type

West Nile Virus Prevention
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
West Nile Virus is one of a group of disease-causing viruses called flaviviruses, which are spread by insects, usually mosquitoes. Other flaviviruses include yellow fever, dengue, and St. Louis encephalitis viruses.

Mad Cow Disease Prevention
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
BSE is a chronic, degenerative disorder affecting the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) of cattle. A similar disorder in people, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), is believed to be caused by eating certain tissues from BSE

Irritable Bowel Syndrome : Treating IBS
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Nearly all people with IBS can be helped, but no single treatment works for everyone. The first step is a personal evaluation of history, stress level and diet. People who can identify particular foods or types of stress that bring on the problem should

Irritable Bowel Syndrome : Understanding IBS
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
IBS is one of three major functional intestinal disorders; - a general term for conditions that show no physical evidence of disease in the intestines upon examination, and the cause of which does not show up in a blood test or an X-ray.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
It's the most common gastrointestinal disorder seen by doctors. Abdominal pain, cramps, gas, bloating, diarrhea and constipation are among the symptoms. For years, many thought it was a psychological condition, rather than a physical one.

Controlling Crohn's with Diet, Treating the Symptoms
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Since there is no cure for Crohn's disease, the goals of treatment are to control inflammation, relieve symptoms, and correct nutritional deficiencies. Treatment depends on which part and how much of the intestine is affected.

Crohn's Disease: Drugs Can Reduce the Symptoms
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Crohn's disease is one of two major types of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) - the general term for diseases that cause inflammation in the intestines - and has no cure and a high rate of recurrence following treatment.

Emphysema: Treatment Options
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
There are a number of treatments that can help patients with emphysema, but the most important step is to stop smoking. Stopping smoking when the airflow obstruction is mild or moderate slows the development of disabling shortness of breath.

Emphysema: Breathing Problems - Treatments
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Emphysema can turn breathing from easy and natural to labored and tortured. Treatments can ease the symptoms, but for those at highest risk, prevention is easy--stop smoking. Emphysema is a degenerative disease that usually develops after many years

Epilepsy: What the Future Holds
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Approximately 150,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed annually. Although few people actually die during seizures, the sheer numbers of people battling the disorder, the high costs associated with the condition, and lifestyle limitations make advocates

Epilepsy: Diagnosis, Drugs, Controlling Seizures
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Tests may be done to rule out short-term causes of seizures, such as uncontrolled diabetes or infections. A complete neurological exam is done, including an EEG electroencephalogram, a machine that records brain waves picked up by wires taped to the head

Epilepsy: Causes and Diagnosis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Although special diets and even surgery are used to prevent seizures, the most common treatment for epilepsy is daily use of anticonvulsant drugs. People with epilepsy may take medicine up to four times a day to prevent seizures; response to the various

Mono - Kissing Disease
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Mono is usually transmitted though saliva and mucus - which is where the 'kissing disease' nickname comes from. But the kissing or close contact that transmits the disease doesn't happen right before you get sick.

Dialysis: Take Care of Your Kidneys
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Healthy kidneys are the body's cleaning crew. Located under the rib cage in the lower back, these twin bean-shaped organs, each the size of a fist, filter out extra water, minerals, and toxins dumped into the blood by the body's other organs.

How Dialysis Works
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Dialysis acts as an artificial kidney. There are two types of treatment: hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. About 90 percent of dialysis patients receive hemodialysis, in which the blood is circulated outside the body and cleaned inside a machine

Copying with Kidney Dialysis
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The National Kidney Foundation, as well as others in the renal (kidney) care community, has been trying to improve quality in dialysis clinics nationwide. The foundation led an extensive project for the last two years to develop quality guidelines