Elephantiasis
| Elephantiasis | |
|---|---|
| Specialty | Infectious disease, general surgery |
Elephantiasis is the enlargement and hardening of limbs or body parts due to tissue swelling.[1][2] It is characterised by oedema, hypertrophy, and fibrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissues, due to obstruction of lymphatic vessels.[2] It may affect the genitalia.[2] The term elephantiasis is often used in reference to (symptoms caused by) parasitic worm infections,[1][2] but may refer to variety of diseases where parts of a person's body swell to massive proportions.[2]
Some conditions that present with elephantiasis include:
- Elephantiasis nostras, due to longstanding chronic lymphangitis[citation needed]
- Elephantiasis tropica or lymphatic filariasis, caused by a number of parasitic worms, particularly Wuchereria bancrofti. More than 120 million people, mostly in Africa and Southeast Asia, are affected.[3]
- Nonfilarial elephantiasis or podoconiosis, an immune disease affecting the lymph vessels[citation needed]
- Leishmaniasis[2]
- Elephantiasis, Grade 3 lymphedema which may occur in people with breast cancer[4]
- Genital elephantiasis, end result of lymphogranuloma venereum[citation needed]
- Proteus syndrome, a genetic disorder. A notable sufferer of Proteus syndrome was the so-called Elephant Man.[citation needed]
Other causes may include:
- Repeated streptococcal infection[2]
- Lymphadenectomy[2]
- Hereditary birth defects[2]
- Pretibial myxedema
Epidemiology
The disease inflicted 1.5 million victims in Ethiopia out of 4 million across the globe in 2018.[5] As per WHO, over 1 billion people in 54 countries, especially in tropical regions, are at risk of elephantiasis although the disease is preventable.[6]
References
- ^ a b "Definition of ELEPHANTIASIS". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "elephantiasis", The Free Dictionary, retrieved 2018-06-28
- ^ Carlson, Emily (27 March 2013). "Taking the 'Bite' Out of Vector-Borne Diseases - Inside Life Science Series - National Institute of General Medical Sciences". publications.nigms.nih.gov. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ^ "Lymphedema". National Cancer Institute. 29 May 2015. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
- ^ HuffPost, On Assignment For (2018-07-17). "Where Shoes Are A Luxury, A Nightmarish Disease May Be Lurking". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
- ^ McNeish, Hannah (2017-10-12). "Victims Of This Disfiguring Disease 'Feel So Much Pain And Shame'". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-08-27.
External links
- "Lymphatic filariasis". World Health Organization. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
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