Tourette Syndrome

Proper Name:
Tourette's disorder per the DSM-IV-TR

Common Name:
Tourette's or TS

Age of Onset:
Before the age of 18

Duration:
This condition is usually lifelong, but it is common for younger children to grow out of the tics.

Males/Females/Ethnic Groups:
The trait is carried on the X-chromosome so males are more likely to show symptoms of this disorder.

Causes:
It is a genetic disorder caused by an abnormal metabolism of the neurotransmitters (dopamine and serotonin are involved with the disorder). Prenatal, perinatal, autoimmune, and environmental factors also contribute to the severity of symptoms.

Symptoms:
Involuntary tics, ranging from sudden jerky movements to complex physical rituals. Tics can also include meaningless vocalizations.

Prognosis:
This disease is generally lifelong, but it is not a degenerative condition. It has a normal life expectancy and does not impair intelligence. Some people simply grow out of their tics, but emotional/behavioral problems usually persist.

Treatment:
Medication is used to lessen tics, but most people are referred to a psychiatrist. Often time this illness comes with other personality disorders and combining too many behavior modification drugs could have adverse effects.

Sources:
http://members.tripod.com/~tourette13/

Fibromyalgia

Proper Name:
Fibromyalgia

Common Name:
Fibromyalgia

Age of Onset:
25 and older

Duration:
Life-long

Males/Females/Ethnic Groups:
Women are 10 times more likely to get it than men.

Causes:
Doctors are still unaware of what causes this disease

Symptoms:
-all over aching
-crippling fatigue
-specific trigger points or tender points on the body may be painful too touch
-swelling
-disturbances in sleep
-mood disturbances or depression.
-muscles twitch, burn, or have deep stabbing pain
-abdominal pain
-anxiety and depression
-chronic headaches
-dryness in mouth, nose, and eyes
-hypersensitivity to cold and/or heat
-inability to concentrate
-irritable bowel syndrome
-numbness or tingling in the fingers and feet
-painful menstrual cramps

Prognosis:
This disease is chronic, so a person will have it all of his/her life with occasional flair ups.

Treatment:
There are medications, alternative remedies, and lifestyle habits that may help decrease fibromyalgia pain and improve sleep. Pain medication or antidepressants may prescribed to help end the pain, fatigue, depression, and anxiety. Also, many doctors may recommend regular physical therapy, moist heat and exercise, relaxation, and stress reduction to help manage symptoms.

Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/guide/fibromyalgia-treatments

Osgood-Schlatter Disease

Proper Name:
Osgood-Schlatter Disease

Common Name:
Growth Pains

Age of Onset:
It happens when an active, athletic child is experiencing a rapid period of growth.

Duration:
It can last for weeks or even months. However, the disease will disappear forever once the adolescent completely stops growing.

Males/Females/Ethnic Groups:
This disease is more common in males than females, but any active child is susceptible.

Causes:
Osgood-Schlatter disease results from the pull of the quadriceps, or thigh muscles, that join with the patellar tendons, which run through the knee and into the tibia, to connect the muscles to the knee. When the quadriceps contract, the patellar tendons can start to pull away from the shin bone, causing pain. This problem becomes more noticeable during activities that require running, jumping, or going up or down stairs.

Symptoms:
Osgood-Schlatter disease is identified either by three main things. First, pain, swelling, and tenderness at the bony prominence on the upper shinbone, just below the kneecap. Second, knee pain that worsens with activity, especially running and jumping, and improves with rest. Third, tightness of the surrounding muscles, especially the thigh muscles. The pain varies from person to person. Some have only mild pain while performing certain activities, especially running and jumping. For others, the pain is nearly constant and debilitating. Osgood-Schlatter disease usually occurs in just one knee, but sometimes it develops in both knees.

Prognosis:
Major symptoms from Osgood-Schlatter disease typically go away when a teenager's growth spurt ends and the bones mature. The condition may leave a permanent painless bump below the knee. In the years after recovery, about 60% of adults who once experienced Osgood-Schlatter disease have some pain with kneeling.

Treatment:
Because this is a disease children must grow out of, the treatments only reduce pain. For this the child can continue at a reduced level of activity as long as the pain isn't too severe. The child may need to avoid any activity that requires deep knee bending, run at a slower speed or for a shorter amount of time, and jump less often. Support bandaging and ice packs will help ease severe pain.

For More Information:
http://www.mydr.com.au/pain/osgood-schlatter-disease

Keloids

Proper Name:
Keloids

Common Name:
Keloids or Keloid Scars

Age of Onset:
This skin disease can occur at any age.

Duration:
Keloids will last an entire lifetime if not treated.

Males/Females/Ethnic Groups:
African-Americans are much more likely to have Keloids, although anyone can get them.

Causes:
The cause is relatively unknown, but a few things are certain. Keloids are scar tissues that form sometime after a small injury or cut (such as insect bites, infected piercing sites, acne, or burns). This scar tissue grows rapidly and migrates to areas that were never infected. This tissue becomes hard and results in unsightly growths varying in size. These scar tissues never become malignant.

Symptoms:
Keloids are abnormal growths which are reddish pink, shiny, dome-shaped, raised, tender, and itchy.

Prognosis: Keloids are not life threatening. If left untreated they can either grow larger, remain on the body forever, or spontaneously resolve just as they appeared. These abnormal scar tissues are very unpredictable, and every case is different.

Treatment:

• Cortisone injections: This is safe and not very painful. Injections are usually given once a month until the keloids are flattened. However, steroid injections can also make the flattened keloid redder by stimulating the formation of more superficial blood vessels.


• Surgery: This is risky, because cutting a keloid can trigger the formation of a similar or even larger keloid.


• Laser: The pulsed-dye laser can be effective at flattening keloids and making them look less red. Treatment is safe and not very painful, but several treatment sessions may be needed.


• Silicone sheets: This involves wearing a sheet of silicone gel on the affected area for several hours a day for weeks or months, which is hard to sustain. Results vary.


• Cryotherapy: Freezing keloids with liquid nitrogen may flatten them, but often darkens the site of treatment.

For More Information: http://www.medicinenet.com/keloid/page3.htm