Made by DATEXIS (Data Science and Text-based Information Systems) at Beuth University of Applied Sciences Berlin
Deep Learning Technology: Sebastian Arnold, Betty van Aken, Paul Grundmann, Felix A. Gers and Alexander Löser. Learning Contextualized Document Representations for Healthcare Answer Retrieval. The Web Conference 2020 (WWW'20)
Funded by The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Grant: 01MD19013D, Smart-MD Project, Digital Technologies
Symptoms may include:
- Abnormal softening of the skull bone (craniotabes—infants and children)
- Blurred vision
- Bone pain or swelling
- Bulging fontanelle (infants)
- Changes in consciousness
- Decreased appetite
- Dizziness
- Double vision (young children)
- Drowsiness
- Headache
- Gastric mucosal calcinosis
- Heart valve calcification
- Hypercalcemia
- Increased intracranial pressure manifesting as cerebral edema, papilledema, and headache (may be referred to as Idiopathic intracranial hypertension)
- Irritability
- Liver damage
- Nausea
- Poor weight gain (infants and children)
- Skin and hair changes
- Cracking at corners of the mouth
- Hair loss
- Higher sensitivity to sunlight
- Oily skin and hair (seborrhea)
- Premature epiphyseal closure
- Skin peeling, itching
- Spontaneous fracture
- Yellow discoloration of the skin (aurantiasis cutis)
- Uremic pruritus
- Vision changes
- Vomiting
Hypervitaminosis A refers to the toxic effects of ingesting too much preformed vitamin A. Symptoms arise as a result of altered bone metabolism and altered metabolism of other fat-soluble vitamins. Hypervitaminosis A is believed to have occurred in early humans, and the problem has persisted throughout human history.
Toxicity results from ingesting too much preformed vitamin A from foods (such as fish or animal liver), supplements, or prescription medications and can be prevented by ingesting no more than the recommended daily amount.
Diagnosis can be difficult, as serum retinol is not sensitive to toxic levels of vitamin A, but there are effective tests available. Hypervitaminosis A is usually treated by stopping intake of the offending food(s), supplement(s), or medication. Most people make a full recovery.
High intake of provitamin carotenoids (such as beta carotene) from vegetables and fruits does not cause hypervitaminosis A, as conversion from carotenoids to the active form of vitamin A is regulated by the body to maintain an optimum level of the vitamin. Carotenoids themselves cannot produce toxicity.
Hypervitaminosis D is a state of vitamin D toxicity. The normal range for blood concentration is 30.0 to 74.0 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL).
An excess of vitamin D causes abnormally high blood concentrations of calcium, which can cause overcalcification of the bones, soft tissues, heart and kidneys. In addition, hypertension can result.Symptoms of vitamin D toxicity may include the following:
- Dehydration
- Vomiting
- Decreased appetite
- Irritability
- Constipation
- Fatigue
- Muscle weakness
- Metastatic calcification of the soft tissues
Hypervitaminosis D symptoms appear several months after excessive doses of vitamin D are administered. In almost every case, a low-calcium diet combined with corticosteroid drugs will allow for a full recovery within a month. There is a theory that some of the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity are actually due to vitamin K depletion. One animal experiment has demonstrated that co-consumption with vitamin K reduced adverse effects, but this has not been tested in humans.
Hypervitaminosis is a condition of abnormally high storage levels of vitamins, which can lead to toxic symptoms. Specific medical names of the different conditions are derived from the vitamin involved: an excess of vitamin A, for example, is called hypervitaminosis A.
Hypervitaminoses are primarily caused by fat-soluble vitamins (D, E, K and A), as these are stored by the body for longer period than the water-soluble vitamins.
Generally, toxic levels of vitamins stem from high supplement intake and not from natural food. Toxicities of fat-soluble vitamins can also be caused by a large intake of highly fortified foods, but natural food rarely deliver dangerous levels of fat-soluble vitamins. The Dietary Reference Intake recommendations from the United States Department of Agriculture define a "tolerable upper intake level" for most vitamins.
The common cause of blindness in developing countries is VAD. The WHO estimates 13.8 million children to have some degree of visual loss related to VAD. Night blindness and its worsened condition, xerophthalmia, are markers of VAD, as it can also lead to impaired immune function, cancer, and birth defects. Collections of keratin in the conjunctiva, known as Bitot's spots, are also seen. Imtiaz's sign is the earliest ocular sign of VAD. Conjunctival epithelial defects occur around lateral aspect of the limbus in the subclinical stage of VAD. These conjunctival epithelial defects are not visible on a biomicroscope, but they take up black stain and become readily visible after instillation of kajal (surma); this is called "Imtiaz's sign". Vitamin A deficiency is one of several hypovitaminoses implicated in follicular hyperkeratosis.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) or hypovitaminosis A is a lack of vitamin A in blood and tissues. It is common in poorer countries, but rarely is seen in more developed countries. Nyctalopia (night blindness) is one of the first signs of VAD. Xerophthalmia, keratomalacia, and complete blindness can also occur since vitamin A has a major role in phototransduction. The three forms of vitamin A include retinols, beta-carotenes, and carotenoids.
Vitamin A deficiency is the leading cause of preventable childhood blindness, and is critical to achieving Millennium Development Goal 4 to reduce child mortality. About 250,000 to 500,000 malnourished children in the developing world go blind each year from a deficiency of vitamin A, around half of whom die within a year of becoming blind. The United Nations Special Session on Children in 2002 set a goal of the elimination of VAD by 2010.
The prevalence of night blindness due to VAD is also high among pregnant women in many developing countries. VAD also contributes to maternal mortality and other poor outcomes in pregnancy and lactation.
VAD also diminishes the ability to fight infections. In countries where children are not immunized, infectious diseases such as measles have higher fatality rates. As elucidated by Alfred Sommer, even mild, subclinical deficiency can also be a problem, as it may increase children's risk of developing respiratory and diarrheal infections, decrease growth rate, slow bone development, and decrease likelihood of survival from serious illness.
VAD is estimated to affect about one-third of children under the age of five around the world. It is estimated to claim the lives of 670,000 children under five annually. Around 250,000–500,000 children in developing countries become blind each year owing to VAD, with the highest prevalence in Southeast Asia and Africa. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), VAD is under control in the United States, but in developing countries, VAD is a significant concern. Globally, 65% of all children aged 6 to 59 months received two doses of vitamin A in 2013, fully protecting them against VAD (80% in the least developed countries).
With few exceptions, like some vitamins from B-complex, hypervitaminosis usually occurs more with fat-soluble vitamins (D, E, K and A or 'DEKA'), which are stored in the liver and fatty tissues of the body. These vitamins build up and remain for a longer time in the body than water-soluble vitamins.
Conditions include:
- Hypervitaminosis A
- Hypervitaminosis D
- Hypervitaminosis E
- Hypervitaminosis K, unique as the true upper limit is less clear as is its bioavailability.
According to Williams' Essentials of Diet and Nutrition Therapy it is difficult to set a DRI for vitamin K because part of the requirement can be met by intestinal bacterial synthesis.
- Reliable information is lacking as to the vitamin K content of many foods or its bioavailability. With this in mind the Expert Committee established an AI rather than an RDA.
- This RDA (AI for men age 19 and older is 120 µg/day, AI for women is 90 µg/day) is adequate to preserve blood clotting, but the correct intake needed for optimum bone health is unknown. Toxicity has not been reported.
High-dosage A; high-dosage, slow-release vitamin B; and very high-dosage vitamin B alone (i.e. without vitamin B complex) hypervitaminoses are sometimes associated with side effects that usually rapidly cease with supplement reduction or cessation.
High doses of mineral supplements can also lead to side effects and toxicity. Mineral-supplement poisoning does occur occasionally, most often due to excessive intake of iron-containing supplements.
Hypervitaminosis E is a state of vitamin E toxicity. Since vitamin E can act as an anticoagulant and may increase the risk of bleeding problems, many agencies have set a tolerable upper intake levels (UL) for vitamin E at 1,000 mg (1,500 IU) per day. This UL was established due to an increased incidence of hemorrhaging with higher doses of supplemental vitamin E. Doses of vitamin E above the UL can also magnify the antiplatelet effects of certain drugs such as anti-coagulant medications and aspirin, which can cause life-threatening symptoms in ill patients. Hypervitaminosis E may also counteract vitamin K, leading to a vitamin K deficiency.
A vitamin deficiency can cause a disease or syndrome known as an avitaminosis or hypovitaminosis. This usually refers to a long-term deficiency of a vitamin. When caused by inadequate nutrition it can be classed as a "primary deficiency", and when due to an underlying disorder such as malabsorption it can be classed as a "secondary deficiency". An underlying disorder may be metabolic as in a defect converting tryptophan to niacin. It can also be the result of lifestyle choices including smoking and alcohol consumption.
Examples are vitamin A deficiency, folate deficiency, scurvy, vitamin D deficiency, vitamin E deficiency, and vitamin K deficiency. In the medical literature, any of these may also be called by names on the pattern of "hypovitaminosis" or "avitaminosis" + "[letter of vitamin]", for example, hypovitaminosis A, hypovitaminosis C, hypovitaminosis D.
Conversely hypervitaminosis is the syndrome of symptoms caused by over-retention of fat-soluble vitamins in the body.
- Vitamin A deficiency can cause keratomalacia.
- Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency causes beriberi and Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome.
- Riboflavin (vitamin B2) deficiency causes ariboflavinosis.
- Niacin (vitamin B3) deficiency causes pellagra.
- Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) deficiency causes chronic paresthesia.
- Vitamin B6
- Biotin (vitamin B7) deficiency negatively affects fertility and hair/skin growth. Deficiency can be caused by poor diet or genetic factors (such as mutations in the BTD gene, see multiple carboxylase deficiency).
- Folate (vitamin B9) deficiency is associated with numerous health problems. Fortification of certain foods with folate has drastically reduced the incidence of neural tube defects in countries where such fortification takes place. Deficiency can result from poor diet or genetic factors (such as mutations in the MTHFR gene that lead to compromised folate metabolism).
- Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) deficiency can lead to pernicious anemia, megaloblastic anemia, subacute combined degeneration of spinal cord, and methylmalonic acidemia among other conditions.
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) short-term deficiency can lead to weakness, weight loss and general aches and pains. Longer-term depletion may affect the connective tissue. Persistent vitamin C deficiency leads to scurvy.
- Vitamin D (cholecalciferol) deficiency is a known cause of rickets, and has been linked to numerous health problems.
- Vitamin E deficiency causes nerve problems due to poor conduction of electrical impulses along nerves due to changes in nerve membrane structure and function.
- Vitamin K (phylloquinone or menaquinone) deficiency causes impaired coagulation and has also been implicated in osteoporosis
List of types of malnutrition or list of nutritional disorders include diseases that results from excessive or inadequate intake of food and nutrients. They come in two broad categories: undernutrition and overnutrition.
Obesity is caused by eating too many calories compared to the amount of exercise the individual is performing, causing a distorted energy balance. It can lead to diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and other mammals, is increased to a point where it is associated with certain health conditions or increased mortality.
The low-cost food that is generally affordable to the poor in affluent nations is low in nutritional value and high in fats, sugars and additives. In rich countries, therefore, obesity is often a sign of poverty and malnutrition while in poorer countries obesity is more associated with wealth and good nutrition. Other non-nutritional causes for obesity included: sleep deprivation, stress, lack of exercise, and heredity.
Acute overeating can also be a symptom of an eating disorder.
Goitrogenic foods can cause goitres by interfering with iodine uptake.
Cat skin disorders are among the most common health problems in cats.
Skin disorders in cats have many causes, and many of the common skin disorders that afflict people have a counterpart in cats. The condition of a cat's skin and coat can also be an important indicator of its general health. Skin disorders of cats vary from acute, self-limiting problems to chronic or long-lasting problems requiring life-time treatment. Cat skin disorders may be grouped into categories according to the causes.
Some diseases are inherent abnormalities of skin structure or function. These include skin fragility syndrome (Ehlers-Danlos), hereditary hypotrichosis and congenital or hereditary alopecia.
Niemann–Pick type C has a wide clinical spectrum. Affected individuals may have enlargement of the spleen (splenomegaly) and liver (hepatomegaly), or enlarged spleen or liver combined (hepatosplenomegaly), but this finding may be absent in later onset cases. Prolonged jaundice or elevated bilirubin can present at birth. In some cases, however, enlargement of the spleen or liver does not occur for months or years – or not at all. Enlargement of the spleen or liver frequently becomes less apparent with time, in contrast to the progression of other lysosomal storage diseases such as Niemann–Pick disease, Types A and B or Gaucher disease. Organ enlargement does not usually cause major complications.
Progressive neurological disease is the hallmark of Niemann–Pick type C disease, and is responsible for disability and premature death in all cases beyond early childhood. Classically, children with NPC may initially present with delays in reaching normal developmental milestones skills before manifesting cognitive decline (dementia).
Neurological signs and symptoms include cerebellar ataxia (unsteady walking with uncoordinated limb movements), dysarthria (slurred speech), dysphagia (difficulty in swallowing), tremor, epilepsy (both partial and generalized), vertical supranuclear palsy (upgaze palsy, downgaze palsy, saccadic palsy or paralysis), sleep inversion, gelastic cataplexy (sudden loss of muscle tone or drop attacks), dystonia (abnormal movements or postures caused by contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles across joints), most commonly begins with in turning of one foot when walking (action dystonia) and may spread to become generalized, spasticity (velocity dependent increase in muscle tone), hypotonia, ptosis (drooping of the upper eyelid), microcephaly (abnormally small head), psychosis, progressive dementia, progressive hearing loss, bipolar disorder, major and psychotic depression that can include hallucinations, delusions, mutism, or stupor.
In the terminal stages of Niemann–Pick type C disease, the patient is bedridden, with complete ophthalmoplegia, loss of volitional movement and severe dementia.
Niemann–Pick type C is a lysosomal storage disease associated with mutations in NPC1 and NPC2 genes. Niemann–Pick type C affects an estimated 1:150,000 people. Approximately 50% of cases present before 10 years of age, but manifestations may first be recognized as late as the sixth decade.
A periosteal reaction is the formation of new bone in response to injury or other stimuli of the periosteum surrounding the bone. It is most often identified on X-ray films of the bones.
A periosteal reaction can result from a large number of causes, including injury and chronic irritation due to a medical condition such as hypertrophic osteopathy, bone healing in response to fracture, chronic stress injuries, subperiosteal hematomas, osteomyelitis, and cancer of the bone. It may also occur as part of thyroid acropachy, a severe sign of the autoimmune thyroid disorder Grave's disease.
Other causes include Menkes kinky hair syndrome and hypervitaminosis A.
It can take about three weeks to appear.
Alcoholic beverages are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a Group 1 carcinogen (carcinogenic to humans). IARC classifies alcoholic beverage consumption as a cause of female breast, colorectum, larynx, liver, esophagus, oral cavity, and pharynx cancers; and as a probable cause of pancreatic cancer.
3.6% of all cancer cases and 3.5% of cancer deaths worldwide are attributable to consumption of alcohol (also known formally as ethanol).
Intolerance to analgesics, particularly NSAIDs, is relatively common. It is thought that a variation in the metabolism of arachidonic acid is responsible for the intolerance. Symptoms include chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, asthma, gastrointestinal ulcers, angioedema, and urticaria.
Children with progeria usually develop the first symptoms during their first few months of life. The earliest symptoms may include a failure to thrive and a localized scleroderma-like skin condition. As a child ages past infancy, additional conditions become apparent usually around 18–24 months. Limited growth, full-body alopecia (hair loss), and a distinctive appearance (a small face with a shallow recessed jaw, and a pinched nose) are all characteristics of progeria. Signs and symptoms of this progressive disease tend to become more marked as the child ages. Later, the condition causes wrinkled skin, atherosclerosis, kidney failure, loss of eyesight, and cardiovascular problems. Scleroderma, a hardening and tightening of the skin on trunk and extremities of the body, is prevalent. People diagnosed with this disorder usually have small, fragile bodies, like those of elderly people. The face is usually wrinkled, with a larger head in relation to the body, a narrow face and a beak nose. Prominent scalp veins are noticeable (made more obvious by alopecia), as well as prominent eyes. Musculoskeletal degeneration causes loss of body fat and muscle, stiff joints, hip dislocations, and other symptoms generally absent in the non-elderly population. Individuals usually retain typical mental and motor development.
Despite this excess bone formation, people with osteopetrosis tend to have bones that are more brittle than normal. Mild osteopetrosis may cause no symptoms, and present no problems.
However, serious forms can result in...
- Stunted growth, deformity, and increased likelihood of fractures
- Patients suffer anemia, recurrent infections, and hepatosplenomegaly due to bone expansion leading to bone marrow narrowing and extramedullary hematopoiesis
- It can also result in blindness, facial paralysis, and deafness, due to the increased pressure put on the nerves by the extra bone
- Abnormal cortical bone morphology
- Abnormal form of the vertebral bodies
- Abnormality of temperature regulation
- Abnormality of the ribs
- Abnormality of vertebral epiphysis morphology
- Bone pain
- Cranial nerve paralysis
- Craniosynostosis
- Hearing impairment
- Hypocalcemia
Drug intolerance or drug sensitivity refers to an inability to tolerate the adverse effects of a medication, generally at therapeutic or subtherapeutic doses. Conversely, a patient is said to be "tolerating" a drug when they can tolerate its adverse effects. It is not to be confused with a drug allergy, which is a form of drug intolerance, but requires an immune-mediated component. It is also not to be confused with drug tolerance ("drug resistance," or tachyphylaxis) which refers to a "lack" of adverse effects even at higher than average doses. Some instances of drug intolerance are known to result from genetic variations in drug metabolism.
The differential diagnosis of osteopetrosis includes other disorders that produce osteosclerosis. They constitute a wide array of disorders with clinically and radiologically diverse manifestations. Among the differential diagnosis are hereditary ostoesclerosing dysplasias such as; neuropathic infantile osteopetrosis, infantile osteopetrosis with renal tubular acidosis, infantile osteopetrosis with immunodeficiency, infantile osteopetrosis with leukocyte adhesion deficiency syndrome (LAD-III), pyknodysostosis (osteopetrosis acro-osteolytica), osteopoikilosis (Buschke–Ollendorff syndrome), osteopathia striata with cranial sclerosis, mixed sclerosing skeletal dysplasias, progressive diaphyseal dysplasia (Camurati–Engelmann disease), SOST-related sclerosing skeletal dysplasias. Besides, the differential diagnosis includes acquired conditions that induce osteosclerosis such as osteosclerotic metastasis notably carcinomas of the prostate gland and breast, Paget's disease of bone, myelofibrosis (primary disorder or secondary to intoxication or malignancy), Erdheim-Chester disease, osteosclerosing types of osteomyelitis, sickle cell disease, hypervitaminosis D and hypoparathyroidism.
As there is no known cure, few people with progeria exceed 13 years of age. At least 90% of patients die from complications of atherosclerosis, such as heart attack or stroke.
Mental development is not adversely affected; in fact, intelligence tends to be average to above average. With respect to the features of aging that progeria appears to manifest, the development of symptoms is comparable to aging at a rate eight to ten times faster than normal. With respect to features of aging that progeria does not exhibit, patients show no neurodegeneration or cancer predisposition. They also do not develop conditions that are commonly associated with aging, such as cataracts (caused by UV exposure) and osteoarthritis.
Although there may not be any successful treatments for progeria itself, there are treatments for the problems it causes, such as arthritic, respiratory, and cardiovascular problems. Sufferers of progeria have normal reproductive development and there are known cases of women with progeria who had delivered healthy offspring.