Glossary

Hemolytic Anemia

Anemia is a condition in which you don’t have enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your tissues. Having anemia may make you feel exhausted.

There are many forms of anemia, each with its own cause. Anemia can be temporary or long term, and it can range from mild to severe.

See your doctor if you suspect you have anemia, because anemia can be a sign of serious illnesses. Treatments for anemia range from taking supplements to undergoing medical procedures. You may be able to prevent some types of anemia by eating a healthy, varied diet.

Henoch-Schonlein Purpura

Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HEH-nawk SHURN-line PUR-puh-ruh) is a type of vasculitis, a group of disorders that cause blood vessel inflammation. In Henoch-Schonlein purpura, this inflammation causes bleeding in the small blood vessels (capillaries) in your skin, joints, intestines and kidneys. The main symptom is a purplish rash, typically on the lower legs and buttocks. Henoch-Schonlein purpura also often causes abdominal pain and aching joints, and in some people, kidney problems.

Although Henoch-Schonlein purpura can affect anyone, it’s most common in children and young adults. Henoch-Schonlein purpura usually improves on its own, but if the kidneys are affected, medical care is generally needed, as well as long-term follow-up to prevent more-serious problems.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure is a common condition in which the force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems, such as heart disease. Blood pressure is determined by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries. The more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure.

You can have high blood pressure (hypertension) for years without any symptoms. Uncontrolled high blood pressure increases your risk of serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke.

High blood pressure typically develops over many years, and it affects nearly everyone eventually. Fortunately, high blood pressure can be easily detected. And once you know you have high blood pressure, you can work with your doctor to control.

High Cholesterol

Cholesterol is a waxy substance that’s found in the fats (lipids) in your blood. While your body needs cholesterol to continue building healthy cells, having high cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease.

When you have high cholesterol, you may develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Your heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack. Decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke.

High cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) can be inherited, but is often preventable and treatable. A healthy diet, regular exercise and sometimes medication can go a long way toward reducing high cholesterol.

Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia is a condition characterized by an abnormally low level of blood sugar (glucose), your body’s main energy source.

Hypoglycemia is commonly associated with the treatment of diabetes. However, a variety of conditions, many of them rare, can cause low blood sugar in people without diabetes. Like fever, hypoglycemia isn’t a disease itself – it’s an indicator of a health problem.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) is a condition in which your thyroid gland doesn’t produce enough of certain important hormones.

Women, especially those older than age 60, are more likely to have hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism upsets the normal balance of chemical reactions in your body. It seldom causes symptoms in the early stages, but, over time, untreated hypothyroidism can cause a number of health problems, such as obesity, joint pain, infertility and heart disease.

The good news is that accurate thyroid function tests are available to diagnose hypothyroidism, and treatment of hypothyroidism with synthetic thyroid hormone is usually simple, safe and effective once you and your doctor find the right dose for you.

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis occurs when lung tissue becomes damaged and scarred. This thickened, stiff tissue makes it more difficult for your lungs to work properly. As pulmonary fibrosis worsens, you become progressively more short of breath.

The scarring associated with pulmonary fibrosis can be caused by a multitude of factors. But in most cases, doctors can’t pinpoint what’s causing the problem. When a cause can’t be found, the condition is termed idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The lung damage caused by pulmonary fibrosis can’t be repaired, but medications and therapies can sometimes help ease symptoms and improve quality of life. For some people, a lung transplant might be appropriate.

Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

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.

IgA nephropathy

IgA nephropathy (nuh-FROP-uh-the) is a common kidney disease that occurs when an antibody called immunoglobulin A (IgA) lodges in your kidneys. This hampers your kidneys’ ability to filter waste, excess water and electrolytes from your blood. Over time, IgA nephropathy – also called Berger’s disease – can lead to blood and protein in your urine, high blood pressure, and swollen hands and feet.

IgA nephropathy usually progresses slowly over many years, and although some people eventually achieve complete remission, others develop end-stage kidney failure. No cure exists for IgA nephropathy, but certain medications can slow its course.

Keeping your blood pressure under control and reducing your cholesterol levels also may help keep IgA nephropathy in check.

Immuno Defeciency

Primary immunodeficiency disorders — also called primary immune disorders or primary immunodeficiency – weaken the immune system, allowing repeated infections and other health problems to occur more easily.

Many people with primary immunodeficiency are born missing some of the body’s immune defenses, which leaves them more susceptible to germs that can cause infections.

Some forms of primary immunodeficiency are so mild they may go unnoticed for years. Other types of primary immunodeficiency are severe enough that they are discovered almost as soon as an affected baby is born.

Treatments can boost the immune system for many types of primary immunodeficiency disorders. Most children with primary immunodeficiency disorders lead relatively normal lives, and are able to go to school and play with.

Immunoregulatory Lipoproteins

A lipoprotein is a biochemical assembly that contains both proteins and lipids, bound to the proteins, which allow fats to move through the water inside and outside cells. The proteins serve to emulsify the lipid (otherwise called fat) molecules. Many enzymes,transporters, structural proteins, antigens, adhesins, and toxins are lipoproteins. Examples include the high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL) lipoproteins, which enable fats to be carried in the blood stream, the transmembrane proteins of themitochondrion and the chloroplast, and bacterial lipoproteins.

Infertility

If getting pregnant has been a challenge for you and your partner, you’re not alone. Ten to 15 percent of couples in the United States are infertile. Infertility is defined as not being able to get pregnant despite having frequent, unprotected sex for at least a year – or for at least six months if the woman is age 35 or older.

Infertility may be due to a single cause in either you or your partner, or a combination of factors that may prevent a pregnancy from occurring or continuing. Fortunately, there are many safe and effective therapies for overcoming infertility. These treatments significantly improve your chances of becoming pregnant.

Insomia

Insomnia is a disorder that can make it hard to fall asleep, hard to stay asleep, or both. With insomnia, you usually awaken feeling unrefreshed, which takes a toll on your ability to function during the day. Insomnia can sap not only your energy level and mood but also your health, work performance and quality of life.

How much sleep is enough varies from person to person. Most adults need seven to eight hours a night. Many adults experience insomnia at some point, but some people have long-term (chronic) insomnia.

You don’t have to put up with sleepless nights. Simple changes in your daily habits can help.

Insulin Dependent Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy.

Type 2 diabetes, which is far more common, occurs when the body becomes resistant to the effects of insulin or doesn’t make enough insulin.

Various factors may contribute to type 1 diabetes, including genetics and exposure to certain viruses. Although type 1 diabetes typically appears during adolescence, it can develop at any age.

Despite active research, type 1 diabetes has no cure, although it can be managed. With proper treatment, people who have type 1 diabetes can expect to live longer, healthier lives than in the past.

Interstitial Cystitis

Interstitial cystitis (in-tur-STISH-ul sis-TI-tis) is a chronic condition characterized by a combination of uncomfortable bladder pressure, bladder pain and sometimes pain in your pelvis, which can range from mild burning or discomfort to severe pain.

While interstitial cystitis — also called painful bladder syndrome — can affect children and men, most of those affected are women. Interstitial cystitis can have a long-lasting adverse effect on your quality of life.

The severity of symptoms caused by interstitial cystitis often fluctuates, and some people may experience periods of remission. Although there’s no treatment that reliably eliminates interstitial cystitis, a variety of medications and other therapies offer relief.