China
Africa
Explore chapters and articles related to this topic
Leprosy (Hansen's Disease)
Published in Scott M. Jackson, Skin Disease and the History of Dermatology, 2023
In ancient times, historians believe that the term used by the Greeks and Latins for HD was elephantiasis or “Elephant's disease.” Note that the term elephantiasis is still in use today but has nothing to do with leprosy. In the modern sense, elephantiasis is a filarial parasitic infection that causes severe edema and skin thickening, particularly of the lower legs. The initial awareness in the Western world of elephantiasis is believed to have occurred in the third century BCE, when the Alexandrian physicians began to see an increasing number of cases as a result of a portion of Alexander's armies returning to Egypt from India, bringing the disease with them.16 According to Rufus of Ephesus (first century CE), the first to mention what Rufus called elephantiasis was a student of Erasistratus named Straton, who called the condition kakochymia, which meant “a mixture of bad humors.”17 Hippocrates did not specifically use the term elephantiasis, but it is widely held that he called the same condition the “Phoenician disease.” Galen concurred in his commentary on Hippocrates' Prorrhetics that the “Phoenician disease” was elephantiasis.18
The Parasite's Way of Life
Published in Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin, Parasitology, 2023
Eric S. Loker, Bruce V. Hofkin
Few diseases are as disfiguring as elephantiasis, which is caused by infection with nematodes in the genera Wuchereria and Brugia. They are commonly known as filarial worms (from the Latin for threadlike). Because of the obvious and often extensive deformity observed in limbs and genitals (see Figure 1.1A), even ancient civilizations were familiar with the condition (Figure 3.3). The term elephantiasis comes from the ancient Greeks, who described those suffering from the condition as elephant-like. Elephantiasis is notable for another important reason; it is the first parasitic condition for which the causal pathogen was shown to be transmitted by infected mosquitos.
Clinical staging of lymphedema: How practical is it for clinical management of primary lymphedema?
Published in Byung-Boong Lee, Peter Gloviczki, Francine Blei, Jovan N. Markovic, Vascular Malformations, 2019
Sandro Michelini, Alessandro Fiorentino, Alessandro Failla, Giovanni Moneta
Since 1997,4–8 five clinical stages have been recognized in Italy (Table 46.3). This system emphasizes the importance of subclinical cases at risk of evolution (in stage I) and cases of elephantiasis with major chronic inflammatory and infectious complications and risk of neoplastic tissue degeneration (stage V). Depending on the stage, it is also possible to direct the therapeutic treatment toward the corresponding preventive options.8
Elephantiasis in a patient with thyroid eye disease
Published in Orbit, 2022
Darius D. Bordbar, Ann Q. Tran, Andrea A. Tooley, Michael Kazim
A 29-year-old man with Graves disease presented with a 6-month history of bulging eyes and upper and lower extremity skin changes. The patient previously underwent radioactive iodine ablation and at the time of presentation was receiving levothyroxine and was euthyroid. There was no family history of Graves disease or thyroid eye disease (TED) and the patient was a non-smoker. Visual acuity was 20/20 bilaterally. There was no afferent pupillary defect. Ocular motility was moderately impaired in depression and abduction on the right and in elevation and abduction on the left. There was bilateral proptosis and upper and lower eyelid retraction with superior and inferior scleral show (Figure 1a). A computed tomography scan of the orbits demonstrated significantly enlarged extra-ocular muscles in a fusiform pattern (Figure 1b). Humphrey visual field testing was within normal limits. The patient’s fingers were uniformly swollen (Figure 1c), and the patient’s feet demonstrated non-pitting edema and cobblestone-appearing hyperkeratotic papulonodules (Figure 1d). A diagnosis of TED with associated infiltrative dermopathy producing acropachy and elephantiasis nostras verrucosa was made. The patient was given one dose of intravenous methylprednisolone with minimal improvement. Elephantiasis is an extremely rare manifestation of dermopathy. Its presence along with acropachy is often associated with severe TED that may require systemic immunosuppression.
Lymphatic filariasis vaccine development: neglected for how long?
Published in Expert Review of Vaccines, 2021
Vivek P Chavda, Anjali Pandya, Sreeranjini Pulakkat, Moinuddin Soniwala, Vandana Patravale
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a vector-borne neglected tropical disease that causes the damage of the lymphatic system and can lead to lymphoedema (elephantiasis) and hydrocele (excess fluid inside the human scrotal sac) in infected individuals’ [1]. The filarial parasites that cause this infection are carried by mosquitoes. Invasion from parasitic nematodes (roundworms or helminths) of the family Filariodidea, such as Wuchereria bancrofti (W.bancrofti), Brugia malayi (B.malayi), or Brugia timori, causes the disease [2,3]. LF affects the lymphatic system and can cause abnormal growth of bodily parts, resulting in discomfort, physical disability, and social stigma. More than 198 million people were infected globally in 2000, approximately 130 million people in 2014, while the 2018 projection of approximately 51 million infected people indicates the progress made thus far toward the eradication of LF as a public health burden due to implementation of chemotherapy in 2000 [4]. LF continues to endanger 859 million people in 50 countries all over the world, necessitating preventative treatment to halt the spread of such a parasitic disease. The annual benchmark estimation of LF patients suggests 25 million males having hydrocele and over 15 million persons with lymphedema. At least 40 million individuals continue to suffer from these chronic illness symptoms [5]. Preventing LF could help to reduce possible suffering and stigma among the vulnerable underprivileged population.
Indonesians Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Distributions and Correlations with Global Diseases
Published in Immunological Investigations, 2020
Krisnawan Andy Pradana, Michael Anekson Widjaya, Mariana Wahjudi
From the literatures of 1000 original research articles searched using Taylor and Francis, Google Scholar, SCOPUS, and PubMed, the 19 articles were selected, processed and extracted (Table 3). From the study, pulmonary tuberculosis, elephantiasis, spondyloarthropathy (SpA), leprosy, ankylosing spondylitis, chronic and occult hepatitis B infection, H. pylori infection, and Steven-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis are identified as diseases that correlated with HLA. Indonesia as the one of 22 countries with high Tuberculosis (TB) prevalence, reported there are 1.017.378 active patient (Collins et al. 2017). Those number of TB patients contrast with the research of HLA correlation with TB in Indonesia. In 2017, a total 12.677 patient recorded for having elephantiasis and the highest number is for Papua Island (Harpini 2018). High prevalence of those diseases and lack of information makes researcher and academician turn in concern of this subject. As early detection, HLA could be used as important molecular marker and statistically associated for any diseases such as diabetes, hepatitis B virus infection, breast cancer, Behçet’s, tuberculosis, spondyloarthropathy, leprosy, ankylosing spondylitis, H. pylori infection, and Steven-Johnson syndrome (Chen et al. 2017; Ding et al. 2010; Elfishawi et al. 2019; Gönen et al. 2017; Hajjej et al. 2019; Kankonkar and Shankarkumar 2008; Khor et al. 2017; Krause-Kyora et al. 2018; Matei et al. 2018; Ouni et al. 2019; Smith 2013)