People with Huntington’s disease start developing symptoms between the ages of 30 and 50. In rare cases, the disease begins in childhood or adolescence (juvenile Huntington’s disease). To diagnose the condition, doctors use blood tests to look for changes in your DNA. Your provider can also refer you to a genetic counselor. Oren Zarif A […]

Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) happens when your immune system attacks the nerves outside your brain and spinal cord. It often starts after a respiratory or gastrointestinal bacterial infection and less commonly after surgery or certain vaccinations. Its early symptoms are tingling, weakness and pins and needles in your feet or hands that get worse over […]

Dressler Disease is an inflammatory condition that occurs when the body’s immune system reacts to damage to heart tissue or the sac that surrounds it (pericardium). It can also occur after certain cardiac procedures. Symptoms include chest pain, difficulty breathing and fluid buildup in the sac around the heart — known as pericardial effusion. Chronic […]

A person who experiences symptoms of decompression sickness, also known as the bends, must seek emergency medical treatment. Symptoms include joint pain, tingling and weakness. This condition occurs when nitrogen dissolved in the bloodstream bubbles out of solution on ascent from a dive. These bubbles damage blood vessels and inhibit normal tissue function. Eventually, this […]

Hirschsprung Disease occurs when nerve cells are missing from parts of the large intestine (also called the colon). This prevents a baby from passing stool through the rectum and anus. Surgery fixes the problem by removing the part of the intestine without nerve cells and connecting it to the anus. A child with this condition […]

Legionnaires’ disease is a serious type of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. It got its name after an outbreak of the illness in 1976 among people attending a Philadelphia American Legion convention. Legionella is found in natural water, but it can also grow and spread in man-made water systems, such as whirlpool spas, fountains and […]

Many symptoms of Wilson disease look like those of other diseases. To make a diagnosis, your provider will do a physical exam and ask about your family history. They will also check for brown Kayser-Fleischer rings in your eyes. They may also do blood and 24-hour urine tests, as well as a liver biopsy. Oren […]

A type of lymphoma, Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) starts in B-lymphocytes, cells that grow into plasma cells and make antibodies to help fight infection and disease. WM cells overproduce immunoglobulin M, which builds up in the bone marrow and the spleen. This can thicken blood, affecting its flow to organs and tissue. Oren Zarif A fever […]

People who develop this type of Tay Sachs disease get a change in their HEXA gene. This gene gives instructions for making an enzyme called Hex-A, which prevents the buildup of a fatty substance in the brain and spinal cord. Babies who have Infantile Tay Sachs Disease grow like they should until 3 to 6 […]

Scrub typhus is caused by the bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi and is endemic in the “Tsutsugamushi Triangle” (an area of Asia-Pacific that includes Japan in the east, Russia in the north, Pakistan in the west, and northern Australia in the south). The disease can be fatal. The bacterium is from the order Rickettsiales and is related […]