The uncommon diseases and disorders which affect normal functioning of our body are described in this article. Information about Microcephaly, Morgellons and other important diseases are presented below.
The diseases that affect people quite rarely are termed as uncommon diseases. These rare diseases affect only a minor part of the population. Some of these diseases are not even understood properly by doctors; treatment of such medical conditions therefore, becomes a bit difficult. Descriptions of most common diseases presented in the article should give an idea about such rare form of medical conditions.
Facts about Some Uncommon Diseases
The medical conditions described in this article are not observed commonly in nature. Study of these diseases and disorders should present useful information to the readers.
Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (ZES)
This is a disease which affects the digestive organs like pancreas and duodenum. The formation of tumors in these organs is the main feature of this disease; the tumors formed due to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome are referred to as gastrins. Secretion of acids from these tumors lead to ulcer development in the duodenum. Abdominal pain is therefore, experienced by patients of Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. The symptoms of this syndrome other than that of abdominal pain are diarrhea, weight loss and nausea; the patient might also suffer from vomiting along with nausea. Quantity of gastrins present in blood is used to determine the extent to which this disease has affected the patient. The medications used in treating Zollinger-Ellison syndrome are pantoprazole, lansoprazole, pmeprazole and esomeprazole. Treatment of ulcer symptoms is possible with these medications.
Microcephaly
It is one of the rare genetic diseases and disorders which affects the brain. In this disease, development of brain doesn’t take place in a proper manner. This causes the circumference of head to be lesser than that in normal cases. In most cases, microcephaly develops at birth itself; in some cases however, this condition develops few years after birth. This neurological condition can result from a variety of causes including the genetic and environmental.
Microcephaly is also associated with medical conditions like the Down’s syndrome and other neurometabolic syndromes. The difference between microcephaly and macrocephaly is that the former is categorized as one of the congenital malformations which affects nervous system. The latter, i.e. macrocephaly also is a type of congenital malformation; however, it affects the musculoskeletal system. The treatment measures used for microcephaly are aimed at reducing the associated problems. Distorted shape of head however, cannot be restored back to normal.
Morgellons
It is a skin problem also known as unexplained dermopathy. Not much is known about the morgellons disease. Rashes on skin are observed in those affected by this disease; these rashes often lead to itching. The other symptoms associated with Morgellons disease are, severe fatigue, joint pain, occurrence of fibrous materials on the skin, etc. In some cases, vision problems too are observed. The atypical antipsychotic drugs are used by doctors in the treatment of morgellons.
Examples of these drugs include resiperidone and olanzapine. There is confusion in the medical community about the actual cause of Morgellons disease. According to some of the experts, this disease results from mental illness. The other conditions associated with this disease also need to be treated properly. Depression and anxiety are some of the related symptoms and their treatment should at least help mitigate the problem.
Refsum’s Disease
The build-up of phytanic acid in the tissues of body is responsible for causing Refsum’s disease. People with the Refsum’s disease exhibit symptoms like ataxia, night blindness, hearing problems and other vision problems like cataracts. The treatment measures for Refsum’s disease are more of preventive in nature. Avoiding the intake of phytanic acid present in certain foods is one of the treatment measures.
List of Other Uncommon Medical Condition
The list of rare diseases other than those described above is presented in the following table. It should make you aware of different medical conditions that are uncommon.
- Arnold-Chiari Malformation
- Encephalocele
- Homocystinuria
- Narcolepsy
- Sarcoidosis
- Williams Syndrome
- Lown-Ganong-Levine Syndrome
- Hydatid Disease
- Osteomalacia
- Fanconi’s Syndrome
- Gaucher Disease
- Long QT Syndrome
- Mallory-Weiss Tear
- Eaton-Lambert Myasthenic Syndrome
Very less information about these diseases is available and therefore, diagnosis & treatment becomes difficult. The uncommon diseases list and explanations given in this article helps us obtain useful information about these rare diseases.
