What Is Idiopathic Pulmonary Hemosiderosis? Pulmonary hemosiderosis (IPH) is a rare and severe pulmonary syndrome characterized by a triad of recurrent episodes of alveolar hemorrhage (bleeding into air sacs), hemoptysis (coughing blood), and iron deficiency anemia. Q: What is the prognosis ...

What Is Vitamin A? Vitamin A is a family of fat-soluble compounds that are essential for health, vision, protection of the body, reproduction, and normal growth of children before and after birth. Q: What is the family of vitamin A? ...

What Is Autoimmune Thyroiditis (Hypothyroidism)? Autoimmune thyroiditis, also called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis or Hashimoto’s Disease, is an autoimmune destruction of thyroid tissue characterized by insufficient thyroid hormone circulating in the body that causes formation of a goiter (enlarged thyroid gland) and ...

What Is Chronic Diarrhea? Chronic diarrhea is an intestinal motility disorder characterized by 1) alteration in stool formation causing loose to fluid movements and quantity of movements with or without abdominal pain and 2) interference with normal carbohydrate salvage by ...

What Is Diffuse Alopecia? Diffuse alopecia is characterized by abnormal hair loss or baldness. Hair loss usually develops gradually and may be patchy or all over (diffuse). The average scalp contains about 100,000 hairs. Roughly 100 hairs are shed from the head ...

What Is Alopecia Areata? Alopecia areata is an autoimmune attack on hair follicles characterized by sudden hair loss involving scalp or beard, although any hairy area may be affected. Areas of hair loss have a patchy pattern with sharply defined ...

What Is Asthma? Asthma is a chronic immune respiratory condition characterized by narrowing and inflammation of the lung airways (large bronchi, bronchial tubes and small bronchioles) in response to an allergen as the trigger or stimulus. As such, asthma occurs ...

What Is Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis? Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a rheumatic disorder characterized by chronic, inflammatory disease of large and small synovial joints and other organs in children under age 16 years. Growth and development may be impaired in ...

What Is Cerebral Vasculitis? Cerebral vasculitis, also called vasculitis of the central nervous system (CNS), is an autoimune attack against elastin fibers in the walls of arteries that bring blood to the head. Early recogniton may reduce poor outcomes.1 Cerebral ...

What Is Vitiligo? Vitiligo is a pigmentation disorder of the skin characterized by permanent loss of melanocytes in defined areas and, in some patients, antibodies to melanin. Vitiligo has significant psychological impact if occurring before adulthood.1 Q: What are melanocytes? A: ...

What Is Non-Infectious Uveitis? Non-infectious uveitis, as opposed to that which is caused by an infection, is an inflammatory eye disorder characterized mainly by swelling of the uveal tract structures in the anterior (front) of the eye.   Inflammation can also affect the ...

What Is Non-Response to Tuberculosis Treatment? Non-response to treatment for tuberculosis means that proper medical treatment failed to control active disease. Tuberculosis is an infection that may be dormant or active. Q: What happens in active tuberculosis? A: Tuberculosis is ...

What Is Sucrose Intolerance And Sucrosemia? Sucrose intolerance is the inability to digest sucrose, a widely available sugar, while sucrosemia is the abnormal presence of sucrose in the bloodstream. Q: Why cannot the body digest sucrose? A: Sucrose, such as cane ...

What Is A Fiery Red, Smooth, Burning Tongue? A fiery red, smooth, burning tongue is an alteration in tongue tissue that is characteristic of advanced niacin deficiency.1 Q: How does niacin deficiency cause the tongue to be red and sore? ...

What Is Short Duration Of Breast Feeding? Short duration of breast feeding, or lactation, is characterized by inadequate milk production by a mother who has just given birth. Normally, lactation begins with the production and release of colostrum from the ...