Kids Research Express

Lupus Erythematosus, chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system treats the body’s own tissue as a foreign substance and produces antibodies to fight it. The damage caused by these antibodies may produce symptoms such as a characteristic butterfly-shaped rash on the face, headache, fatigue, arthritic joint disease, heart damage, shortness of breath, and impaired kidney function. Commonly known as lupus, the disease follows an irregular course of remissions and flare-ups, and may often be incapacitating Diagnosis of lupus is difficult and can take years because symptoms are intermittent or may mimic other disorders. Diagnosis begins with a complete medical history, a physical examination, blood tests, and other studies that may be necessitated by the patient’s symptoms. The physician, normally a rheumatologist (an expert on musculoskeletal and immune system conditions) must consider and rule out other disorders such as chronic fatigue syndrome or mononucleosis before confirm...

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), medical term for a ministroke, a sudden loss of function in one region of the brain. Symptoms may include double vision or temporary loss of vision, speech difficulties, vomiting, loss of sensation and movement on one side of the body, dizziness, unsteadiness, and loss of memory. Loss of consciousness is rare. Symptoms usually reach a peak within seconds and last for minutes or hours. Recovery is complete, but TIAs tend to recur. A TIA is caused by the obstruction of small blood vessels by tiny blood clots or, less often, by reduced blood supply to the brain associated with diseases of the heart or blood vessels, such as narrowing of the arteries due to atherosclerosis. Aspirin, because of its anticlotting properties, may reduce the risk of TIAs in some patients. Other cases may be helped by an operation known as carotid artery endarterectomy, used to clear blockage of the carotid artery in the neck.

Yellow Fever, noncontagious, infectious disease, caused by a virus, and characterized in severe cases by high fever and jaundice. Originally yellow fever was believed to be exclusively a disease of humans, but research has revealed that it also affects monkeys and other animals. It is believed that diseased monkeys of Africa and tropical America are the primary source of infection and that carrier mosquitoes transmit the infection to humans. This type of the disease, which occurs only sporadically in human beings, is known as jungle yellow fever. If infected individuals move into a populated area, they may be bitten by a semidomestic species of mosquito, such as Aëdes aegypti, which lives close to human habitations. These feed on the blood of humans and are the chief transmitting agents in epidemics of urban yellow fever.

Whooping Cough, also known as pertussis, common name applied to an acute, infectious disease of the respiratory tract, caused by the bacillus Bordetella pertussis. The disease is characterized in its late stages by a deep cough ending in a peculiar high-pitched whooping sound. Whooping cough occurs worldwide, periodically in epidemics. Infection with pertussis usually occurs by inhaling droplets sprayed into the air during coughing or sneezing spells by an infected person. Once inside the respiratory tract, pertussis bacteria produce toxins (poisonous chemicals) that interfere with the respiratory tract’s ability to eliminate microbial infections. Pertussis bacteria also produce chemicals that cause inflammation of the lining of the respiratory tract. The disease begins with a runny nose, a harsh cough, and a slight fever. The characteristic whoop develops one to two weeks later. Coughing spells, which usually occur at night and often end in vomiting, can continue to occur for four wee...

This vitamin is necessary mainly for the coagulation of blood. It aids in forming prothrombin, an enzyme needed to produce fibrin for blood clotting. The richest sources of vitamin K are alfalfa and fish livers, which are used in making concentrated preparations of this vitamin. Dietary sources include all leafy green vegetables, egg yolks, soybean oil, and liver. For a healthy adult, a normal diet and bacterial synthesis in the bowels usually are sufficient to supply the body with vitamin K and prothrombin. Digestive disturbances may lead to defective absorption of vitamin K and hence to mild disorders in blood clotting.

The role of vitamin E in the human body is known to be an essential nutrient in more than 20 vertebrate species. The vitamin plays some role in forming red blood cells and muscle and other tissues and in preventing the oxidation of vitamin A and fats. It is found in vegetable oils, wheat germ, liver, and leafy green vegetables. Vitamin E is popularly advocated for a wide range of diseases, but no substantial evidence has been found to back these claims. Although vitamin E is stored in the body, overdoses appear to have lower toxic effects than do overdoses of other fat-soluble vitamins.

This vitamin is necessary for normal bone formation and for retention of calcium and phosphorus in the body. It also protects the teeth and bones against the effects of low calcium intake by making more effective use of calcium and phosphorus. Also called the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is obtained from egg yolk, liver, tuna, and vitamin-D fortified milk. It is also manufactured in the body when sterols, which are commonly found in many foods, migrate to the skin and become irradiated. Vitamin D deficiency, or rickets, occurs only rarely in tropical climates where sunlight is abundant, but it was once common among children of other areas before the use of vitamin D-fortified milk. Rickets is characterized by deformities of the rib cage and skull and by bowlegs, due to failure of the body to absorb calcium and phosphorus. Because vitamin D is fat-soluble and stored in the body, excessive consumption can cause vitamin poisoning, kidney damage, lethargy, and loss of appetite.