Disorders and Diseases

Parasite Provides First Clue to AIDS, Toxoplasmosis and Pregnancy
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
As HIV infections have increased, so has the incidence of pneumocystis pneumonia. According to CDC's HIV/AIDS Surveillance, 19,503 new cases of pneumocystis pneumonia were diagnosed in HIV-infected patients in 1992.

Parasitic Invaders and the Reluctant Human Host
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Large outbreaks of parasitic infection are rare in this country. But they are common in much of the rest of the world and can be an unintended souvenir for Americans traveling abroad.

Cystic Fibrosis : Advances and Stumbling Blocks
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The symptoms of CF were first described in medical journals in 1938. The malady was attributed to a defect in the channels leading from certain glands - a remarkably accurate description, it would turn out.

Cystic Fibrosis : Treating CF, Gene Therapy
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Checking for an errant CF gene may be easy, but interpreting the results may not be. Researchers are finding that different CF mutations cause different degrees of sickness. Alex Deford probably had two copies of delta F508, the most common

Cystic Fibrosis : Genetic Testing, To Test or Not To Test?
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Developing a test to detect the gene that causes CF would provide a definitive diagnosis, because this mutant gene is the only cause of the disorder. The first step was to find out where the gene behind CF lies among the 23 pairs of chromosomes.

Cystic Fibrosis: Tests, Treatments Improve Survival
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The discovery in 1989 of the gene that causes cystic fibrosis has given impetus to improved diagnosis and treatment for this debilitating and sometimes deadly disease that can affect breathing, digestion, and other body functions.

Blood-Borne Disease
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
FDA, along with other government agencies and professional organizations has taken steps to help ensure that the AIDS virus and other blood-borne infections will not be transmitted among health professionals and patients.

Endometriosis Painful, but Treatable
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
About 5 million American women some as young as 11 have this painful condition, which occurs when fragments of the uterus (womb) become embedded elsewhere in the body. Many report having symptoms as teenagers.

Connective Tissue Diseases (CTDs) : Symptom Management
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Just as the causes of CTDs are unknown, so are the cures. All CTDs are chronic, but people may have long periods of remission when they are symptom-free. For this reason, treatment focuses on symptom management.

Connective Tissue Diseases (CTDs) : Causes and Diagnosing
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The causes of CTDs are unknown, although scientists are investigating factors that may play a role in triggering the disorders. Suspected culprits are defective genes, overproduction of hormones, and faulty clearing from the body of antibodies and the sub

Coping with Connective Tissue Diseases (CTDs)
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Medications help people manage this group of often painful and life-disrupting disorders, including scleroderma and lupus. Possible causes may be defective genes, hormone overproduction, and agents such as polyvinyl chloride and collagen.

Kawasaki Syndrome Treatment
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The early signs of Kawasaki syndrome may mimic those of less serious childhood maladies, but left untreated it can be life-threatening. FDA recently approved use of a biologic with aspirin to prevent coronary artery problems that can result.

Berry Aneurysms, Artery Aneurysms
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Before berry aneurysms rupture, some people get warning signs. Small amounts of blood may leak from the aneurysm for hours or days, causing headaches, nausea and neck stiffness. Angiograms can locate a suspected unruptured aneurysm.

Aneurysms Difficult to Diagnose, Complex to Cure
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Often symptomless, aneurysms may be diagnosed by chance when a person is having an x-ray or ultrasound imaging for another reason. Drugs and surgery are used to treat these balloon-like swellings of blood vessel walls, which can be fatal if they burst.

Medications for Growth Disorders
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
When a child's growth doesn't progress normally, parents may seek medical help. Several new drugs can set a child on the right growth track, but their use is sometimes controversial. When a child's growth or development goes awry, it often dismays parents

Most Common Headache Types
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Migraine headaches usually throb and affect one or both sides of the head. Physical activity tends to worsen the pain. Patients also may have nausea, vomiting, light and noise sensitivity, or other symptoms.

Cluster Headache, Tension-Type Headache
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Cluster headache is so-named because it recurs in clusters, several times a day, for several weeks or months. A cluster may start at a certain time of year, perhaps with a change of season.

Controlling Epilepsy : Surgical Cures, Pinpointing Epilepsy
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
When all else fails, some people with epilepsy may benefit from surgical removal of the malfunctioning brain cells that spark their seizures. To benefit from such surgery, patients' seizures must begin in one fairly small area of the brain that is not

Controlling Epilepsy : Drug Treatment, Pregnancy Risk
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Drugs, surgery, a special diet, or a combination of these treatments is used to prevent seizures. Drug therapy alone can control seizures in about three-quarters of all people with epilepsy. FDA has approved 16 drugs to treat epilepsy.

Controlling Epilepsy
by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Uninformed, supernatural explanations for epilepsy have given way to the scientific knowledge that it's a neurological disorder that can be diagnosed with tests and newer imaging techniques, and usually controlled with drugs.