My top 10 diseases

Top 10 diseases:

1.Nodding Syndrome: It is a recent disease which emerged in the 1980s. Little is known about the disease. It is a mentally and physically disabling disease that only affects children, typically between the ages of 5 and 15. It is currently restricted to small regions South Sudan, Tanzania and northern Uganda. Children affected by the disease experience a permanent stunting of growth, this includes growth of the brain. The victims experience pathological nodding seizures which arise as the child begins to eat. It is currently not known what causes the disease but it is believed to be connected to the parasitic worm Onchocerca volvulus, carried by the black fly. 

 
2.Kuru disease: It is an extremely rare and fatal disease which affects the nervous system. It is caused by cannibalism, specifically eating infected brains. It was contracted by the Fore people in the highlands of New Guinea by performing cannibalism during funeral rituals. It is characterised as difficulty walking, swallowing and chewing. Symptoms also include loss of coordination and muscle twitching. The name Kuru translates to "Shiver" or "trembling in fear". It is also known as laughing sickness due to pathological bursts of laughter that the patient displays. 

3.Naegleria Fowleri: Also known as brain eating amoeba, they are found in bodies of fresh water, such as ponds, lakes, rivers and hot springs. It invades the central nervous system via the nose, and migrates to the brain. It feeds on the nerve tissue causing significant necrosis and haemorrhaging. 

4.African Trypanosomiasis: 
Is a parasitic disease also known as the sleeping sickness. The disease initially causes fevers, itchiness, headaches and joint pains. The second stage begins with confusion, poor coordination numbness and trouble sleeping. Invasion of the circulatory and lymphatic systems by the parasites is associated with severe swelling of lymph nodes. The second neurological stage begins when the parasite invades the central nervous system, by passing through the blood brain barrier. Disruption of the sleep cycle is a leading symptom of this stage. Without treatment the disease is invariably fatal, with progressive mental deterioration leading to coma, systemic organ failure and death.   

5.Ebola: It is a viral illness of which the initial symptoms can include a sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat. Subsequent stages include: vomiting, diarrhoea and in some cases both internal and external bleeding. The disease infects humans through close contact with infected animals. It then spreads between humans by direct contact with infected blood, bodily fluids or organs, or indirectly through contact with contaminated environments. The virus attacks the lining of blood vessels causing internal organs throughout the body to ooze blood. This includes the lungs therefore resulting in the victim drowning in their own blood.

  

6.HIV virus: It is a virus that can hide in the cells of your body for long periods of time and then attacks a key part of your immune system- your T-cells or CD4 cells which are essential to fight disease. However, HIV hijacks these cells and uses them to replicate, subsequently destroying them. HIV can kill so many of these cells that your body can no longer fight infection, this stage is called AIDS. 

7.Alice In Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS): Also known as Todd's syndrome, is a disorientating neurological condition that affects human perception. It affects the sense of vision, sensation, touch and hearing. A prominent symptom is experiences of altered body image. AIWS also involves perceptual distortions of the size or shape of images. The patient can also lose sense of time, space and velocity. The causes are not known. 

8.FOP: Is a rare genetic disease that affects the connective tissue. The body causes fibrous tissue such as ligament, tendon and muscle, to become ossified, or to change into bone when damaged. This means a fall can cause bone to grow within the muscles and tendons throughout the body. It is the only known disease which causes one type of organ system to turn into an entirely different one. There is no known treatment.

9.Progeria: It is an extremely rare genetic disorder where symptoms associated with ageing are manifested at a very early age. Those born with the disease do not tend to live above the age of 13. It is a genetic condition that occurs as a new mutation, and is rarely inherited, as carriers do not live to reproduce. Symptoms include limited growth, hair loss, and a distinctive appearance. Later the condition causes wrinkled skin, atherosclerosis, kidney failure, loss of eyesight, and cardiovascular problems. People diagnosed with the disease usually have small, fragile bodies, like those of elderly people. It is caused due to abnormal mRNA transcription; this causes an abnormal variant of the prelamin A protein. 


10.Elephantiasis: This disease is caused by parasitic worms which are transmitted by mosquitoes. After bitten by an infected mosquito, the larvae spread. Ultimately, the parasites accumulate in the surrounding tissues. This causes fluid build up which leads to extreme swelling.