Glossary

Sympathetic Ophthalmia

Sympathetic Ophthalmia (SO) is a bilateral diffuse granulomatous uveitis (a kind of inflammation) of both eyes following trauma to one eye. It can leave the patient completely blind. Symptoms may develop from days to several years after a penetrating eye injury.

Tachycardia

Tachycardia is a faster than normal heart rate. A healthy adult heart normally beats 60 to 100 times a minute when a person is at rest. If you have tachycardia (tak-ih-KAHR-de-uh), the rate in the upper chambers or lower chambers of the heart, or both, are increased significantly.

Heart rate is controlled by electrical signals sent across heart tissues. Tachycardia occurs when an abnormality in the heart produces rapid electrical signals.

In some cases, tachycardias may cause no symptoms or complications. However, tachycardias can seriously disrupt normal heart function, increase the risk of stroke, or cause sudden cardiac arrest or death.

Treatments may help control a rapid heartbeat or manage diseases contributing to tachycardia.

Takayasu’s Arthritis

Takayasu’s Arthritis (tah-kah-YAH-sooz ahr-tuh-RIE-tis) is a rare type of vasculitis, a group of disorders that cause blood vessel inflammation. In Takayasu’s Arthritis, the inflammation damages the aorta — the large artery that carries blood from your heart to the rest of your body — and the aorta’s main branches. The disease can lead to blockages or narrowed arteries, called stenoses, or abnormally dilated arteries, called aneurysms. Takayasu’s Arthritis can also lead to arm or chest pain, high blood pressure, and eventually to heart failure or stroke.

Takayasu’s Arthritis mainly affects young girls and women under 40. The exact cause of the disease is not known.

The goal of treatment is to relieve inflammation in the arteries and prevent potential complications. Even with early detection and treatment, however, Takayasu’s arthritis can be challenging to manage.

Thrombocytopenic Purpura(ATP)

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), also called immune thrombocytopenic purpura, is a blood-clotting disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding. ITP results from unusually low levels of platelets – the cells that help your blood clot.

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura affects both children and adults. Children often develop idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura after a viral infection and usually recover fully without treatment. In adults, however, the disorder is often chronic.

Treatment of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura depends on your symptoms and platelet count. If you don’t have signs of bleeding and your platelet count isn’t too low, treatment for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura usually isn’t necessary. More serious cases may be treated with medications or, in critical situations, with surgery.

Tonsillitis Chronic

Tonsillitis is inflammation of the tonsils, two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of the throat – one tonsil on each side. Signs and symptoms of tonsillitis include swollen tonsils, sore throat, difficulty swallowing and tender lymph nodes on the sides of the neck.

Most cases of tonsillitis are caused by infection with a common virus, but bacterial infections also may cause tonsillitis.

Because appropriate treatment for tonsillitis depends on the cause, it’s important to get a prompt and accurate diagnosis. Surgery to remove tonsils, once a common procedure to treat tonsillitis, is usually performed only when tonsillitis occurs frequently, doesn’t respond to other treatments or causes serious complications.

Transverse Myelitis

Transverse Myelitis is inflammation of the spinal cord, which often targets insulating material covering nerve cell fibers (myelin). Transverse myelitis may result in injury across the spinal cord, causing diminished or absent sensation below the injury.

The disrupted transmission of nerve signals due to transverse myelitis can cause pain or other sensory problems, weakness or paralysis of muscles, or bladder and bowel dysfunction.

Several factors can cause transverse myelitis, including infections not directly affecting the spine and immune system disorders attacking the body’s own tissues. It may also occur as an episode of other myelin disorders, such as multiple sclerosis.

Treatment for transverse myelitis includes anti-inflammatory drugs, medications to manage symptoms and rehabilitative therapy. Most people with transverse myelitis experience at least partial recovery.

Type I, II, & III Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndromes

Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type 2, a form of autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome also known as Schmidt’s syndrome, or APS-II, is the most common form of the polyglandular failure syndromes. It is more heterogeneous and has not been linked to one gene. Rather, patients are at a higher risk when they carry a particular human leukocyte antigen genotype. APS-II affects women to a greater degree than men (75% of cases occur in women).

Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative Colitis (UL-sur-uh-tiv koe-LIE-tis) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes long-lasting inflammation in part of your digestive tract.

Like Crohn’s disease, another common IBD, ulcerative colitis can be debilitating and sometimes can lead to life-threatening complications. Because ulcerative colitis is a chronic condition, symptoms usually develop over time, rather than suddenly.

Ulcerative Colitis usually affects only the innermost lining of your large intestine (colon) and rectum. It occurs only through continuous stretches of your colon, unlike Crohn’s disease, which occurs anywhere in the digestive tract and often spreads deeply into the affected tissues.

There’s no known cure for Ulcerative Colitis, but therapies are available that may dramatically reduce the signs and symptoms of Ulcerative Colitis and even bring about a long-term remission.

Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease (UCTD)

In medicine, mixed connective tissue disease (also known as Sharp’s syndrome), commonly abbreviated as MCTD, is an autoimmune disease, in which the body’s defense system attacks itself. It was characterized in 1972, and the term was introduced by Leroy in 1980.

It is sometimes equated with the term “Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease” but some sources specifically reject such assertions of equivalence.

Urticaria

Chronic hives, also known as urticaria, are batches of raised, red or white itchy welts (wheals) of various sizes that appear and disappear. While most cases of hives go away within a few weeks or less, for some people they are a long-term problem. Chronic hives are defined as hives that last more than six weeks or hives that go away, but recur frequently.

In most cases of chronic hives, a cause is never clearly identified. In some cases, chronic hives may be related to an underlying autoimmune disorder, such as thyroid disease or lupus.

While the underlying cause of chronic hives is usually not identified, treatment can help with symptoms. For many people, antihistamine medications provide the best relief.

Uveitis

Uveitis (u-ve-I-tis) is inflammation of the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. The uvea consists of the iris, choroid and ciliary body. The choroid is sandwiched between the retina and the white of the eye (sclera), and it provides blood flow to the deep layers of the retina. The most common type of uveitis is an inflammation of the iris called iritis (anterior uveitis).

Infections, injury and autoimmune disorders may be associated with the development of uveitis, though the exact cause is often unknown.

Uveitis can be serious, leading to permanent vision loss. Early diagnosis and treatment are important to prevent the complications of uveitis.

Vasculitis

Vasculitis is an inflammation of your blood vessels. Vasculitis causes changes in the walls of your blood vessels, including thickening, weakening, narrowing and scarring.

There are many types of vasculitis. Some forms last only a short time (acute) while others are long lasting (chronic). Vasculitis, which is also known as angiitis and arteritis, can be so severe that the tissues and organs supplied by the affected vessels don’t get enough blood. This shortage of blood can result in organ and tissue damage, even death.

Vasculitis can affect anyone, though some types of vasculitis are more common among certain groups. Some forms of vasculitis improve on their own, but others require treatment – often including taking medications for an extended period of time.

Vesiculobullous Dermatosis

Vesiculobullous Dermatosis is a type of skin disease that is characterized by blistersincluding bullae, hence the name.

Vitiligo

Vitiligo (vit-ih-LI-go) is a condition in which your skin loses melanin, the pigment that determines the color of your skin, hair and eyes. Vitiligo occurs when the cells that produce melanin die or no longer form melanin, causing slowly enlarging white patches of irregular shapes to appear on your skin.

Vitiligo affects all races, but may be more noticeable in people with darker skin. Vitiligo usually starts as small areas of pigment loss that spread with time. There is no cure for vitiligo. The goal of treatment is to stop or slow the progression of pigment loss and, if you desire, attempt to return some color to your skin.

Wegener’s Granulomatosis

Wegener’s Granulomatosis (VEG-eh-nerz gran-u-loe-muh-TOE-sis) is an uncommon disorder that causes inflammation of your blood vessels. This inflammation restricts blood flow to various organs.

Wegener’s Granulomatosis, which is also called granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), often affects your kidneys, lungs and upper respiratory tract. The restricted blood flow to these organs can damage them. Wegener’s can affect other organs, but this isn’t as common, and generally isn’t as serious.

Wegener’s Granulomatosis also produces a type of inflammatory tissue known as a granuloma that’s found around the blood vessels. Granulomas can destroy normal tissue. There is no known cause for Wegener’s granulomatosis.

Early diagnosis and treatment of Wegener’s granulomatosis may lead to a full recovery. Without treatment, Wegener’s granulomatosis can be fatal, most commonly from kidney failure.