Glossary

Meniere’s Disease

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes spontaneous episodes of vertigo — a sensation of a spinning motion — along with fluctuating hearing loss, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), and sometimes a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ear. In many cases, Meniere’s disease affects only one ear.

People in their 40s and 50s are more likely than people in other age groups to develop Meniere’s disease, but it can occur in anyone, even children.

Although Meniere’s disease is considered a chronic condition, various treatment strategies can help relieve symptoms and minimize the disease’s long-term impact on your life.

Menopause

Menopause is the permanent end of menstruation and fertility, defined as occurring 12 months after your last menstrual period.

Menopause is a natural biological process, not a medical illness. Even so, the physical and emotional symptoms of menopause can disrupt your sleep, sap your energy and – at least indirectly – trigger feelings of sadness and loss.

Even though menopause is not a disease, you shouldn’t hesitate to seek treatment for severe symptoms. Many effective treatments are available, from lifestyle adjustments to hormone therapy.

Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions – increased blood pressure, a high blood sugar level, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels – that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Having just one of these conditions doesn’t mean you have metabolic syndrome. However, any of these conditions increase your risk of serious disease. If more than one of these conditions occur in combination, your risk is even greater.

If you have metabolic syndrome or any of the components of metabolic syndrome, aggressive lifestyle changes can delay or even prevent the development of serious health problems.

Migraine

Headache is pain in any region of the head. Headaches may occur on one or both sides of the head, be isolated to a certain location, radiate across the head from one point or have a vise-like quality. A headache may be a sharp pain, throbbing sensation or dull ache. Headaches may appear gradually or suddenly, and they may last less than an hour or for several days.

Mixed Connective Tissuse Diseases

Mixed connective tissue disease features signs and symptoms of a combination of disorders – primarily of lupus, scleroderma and polymyositis. For this reason, mixed connective tissue disease is sometimes referred to as an overlap disease.

In mixed connective tissue disease, the symptoms of the separate diseases usually don’t appear all at once. Instead, they tend to occur in sequence over a number of years, which can make diagnosis more complicated.

Early signs and symptoms often involve the hands. Fingers may swell up like sausages, and the fingertips might turn white and become numb. In later stages, some organs – such as the lungs, heart and kidneys – may be affected.

Mixed connective tissue disease occurs most commonly in young women. Treatment often includes drugs such as prednisone.

Morgellons Dieases

Morgellons disease is the popular name for an unexplained skin disorder characterized by disfiguring sores and crawling sensations on and under the skin. Morgellons disease also features fibers or solid materials emerging from these sores.

Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have concluded that Morgellons disease, which they refer to as an unexplained dermopathy, isn’t caused by an infection or parasites. Fibers found in the sores are usually wisps of cotton thread, probably coming from clothing or bandages.

CDC experts note that the signs and symptoms of Morgellons disease are very similar to those of a mental illness involving false beliefs about infestation by parasites (delusional parasitosis).

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially debilitating disease in which your body’s immune system eats away at the protective sheath (myelin) that covers your nerves. Damage to myelin causes interference in the communication between your brain, spinal cord and other areas of your body. This condition may result in deterioration of the nerves themselves, a process that’s not reversible.

Symptoms vary widely, depending on the amount of damage and the nerves that are affected. People with severe cases of multiple sclerosis may lose the ability to walk or speak clearly. Multiple sclerosis can be difficult to diagnose early in the course of the disease because symptoms often come and go – sometimes disappearing for months.

Multiple sclerosis has no cure. However, treatments may help treat MS attacks, manage symptoms and reduce progress of the disease.

Myasthenia Graves

Myasthenia gravis (mi-uhs-THEE-ne-uh GRA-vis) is characterized by weakness and rapid fatigue of any of the muscles under your voluntary control. The cause of myasthenia gravis is a breakdown in the normal communication between nerves and muscles.

There is no cure for myasthenia gravis, but treatment can help relieve signs and symptoms – such as weakness of arm or leg muscles, double vision, drooping eyelids, and difficulties with speech, chewing, swallowing and breathing.

While myasthenia gravis can affect people of any age, it’s more common in women younger than 40 and in men older than 60.

Myocarditis

Myocarditis is an inflammation of the myocardium, the middle layer of the heart wall. Myocarditis is usually caused by a viral infection. Signs and symptoms of myocarditis include chest pain, heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms.

If myocarditis becomes severe, the pumping action of your heart weakens, and your heart won’t be able to supply the rest of your body with enough blood. Clots also could form in your heart, leading to a stroke or heart attack.

Treatment for myocarditis depends on the underlying cause.

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder characterized by overwhelming daytime drowsiness and sudden attacks of sleep. People with narcolepsy often find it difficult to stay awake for long periods of time, regardless of the circumstances. Narcolepsy can cause serious disruptions in your daily routine.

Contrary to what some people believe, narcolepsy isn’t related to depression, seizure disorders, fainting, simple lack of sleep or other conditions that may cause abnormal sleep patterns.

Narcolepsy is a chronic condition for which there’s no cure. However, medications and lifestyle changes can help you manage the symptoms. Support from others — family, friends, employer, teachers — can help you cope with narcolepsy.

Neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia is a chronic pain condition that affects the trigeminal nerve, which carries sensation from your face to your brain. If you have trigeminal neuralgia, even mild stimulation of your face – such as from brushing your teeth or putting on makeup – may trigger a jolt of excruciating pain.

You may initially experience short, mild attacks, but trigeminal neuralgia can progress, causing longer, more frequent bouts of searing pain. Trigeminal neuralgia affects women more often than men, and it’s more likely to occur in people who are older than 50.

Because of the variety of treatment options available, having trigeminal neuralgia doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doomed to a life of pain. Doctors usually can effectively manage trigeminal neuralgia with medications, injections or surgery.

Neuromyelitis Optica (Devic’s)

One patient has uncontrolled vomiting. Another patient has eye pain and blurry vision that quickly progresses to blindness. Another has weakness and spasms of the legs. All three patients test positive for the Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) antibody. NMO is a demyelinating disease that affects the optic nerves and the spinal cord. It can lead to blindness, paraplegia, bladder and bowel dysfunction, respiratory failure, and death. For nearly 100 years, NMO, also known as Devic’s disease, was considered a variant of multiple sclerosis (MS). There was no effective diagnostic test or treatment.

Neutropenia

Neutropenia (noo-troe-PEE-nee-uh) is an abnormally low count of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that helps fight off infections, particularly those caused by bacteria and fungi.

The threshold for defining neutropenia varies slightly from one medical practice to another. Neutropenia in adults is generally defined as a count of 1,700 or fewer neutrophils per microliter of blood. The cell count indicating neutropenia in children varies with age.

The lower your neutrophil count, the more vulnerable you are to infectious diseases. If you have severe neutropenia — fewer than about 500 cells per microliter of blood — bacteria normally present in your mouth and digestive tract can cause infections.

Obesity

Obesity is defined as having an excessive amount of body fat. Obesity is more than just a cosmetic concern, though. It increases your risk of diseases and health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

Being extremely obese means you are especially likely to have health problems related to your weight.

The good news is that even modest weight loss can improve or prevent the health problems associated with obesity. You can usually lose weight through dietary changes, increased physical activity and behavior changes. In some cases, prescription medications or weight-loss surgery may be options.

Ocular Cicatricial Pemphigoid

Cicatricial pemphigoid (also known as “Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid”, “MMP”, “Benign mucosal pemphigoid,” “Benign mucous membrane pemphigoid,” “Ocular pemphigus,” and “Scarring pemphigoid”) is a rare chronic autoimmune subepithelial blistering disease characterized by erosive skin lesions of the mucous membranes and skin that results in scarring of at least some sites of involvement.

Cicatricial pemphigoid has been referred to by a variety of designations based largely on its site of involvements, with examples of such terminology including “desquamative gingivitis,” “ocular pemphigus,” and “benign mucous membrane pemphigoid.” However, currently “…such designations are thought to be confusing or somewhat misleadings (e.g., pemphigus in this context is a misnomer , and this disorder is hardly benign given the extent of morbidity it can cause).”