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Eosinophilic meningitis
Eosinophilic meningitis Meningitis with a high percentage of eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The usual cause is the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, also known as the rat lungworm. People become infected with this parasite by ingesting its larvae in raw or insufficiently cooked snails, slugs, freshwater prawns, frogs, or fish. Infection may also occur by consumption of fresh produce such as contaminated lettuce. When the larvae are ingested, they penetrate the intestinal tract, go into blood vessels, and eventually reach the meninges (the covering of the brain and spinal cord). The larvae usually die there shortly thereafter. An eosinophilic reaction develops in response to the dying larvae. It is manifested by an outpouring of eosinophils in the CSF.
RELATED TERMS--------------------------------------
Meningitis
An infectious disease that strikes membranes covering the brain and spinal cord (meninges). It can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. It can follow another infection somewhere else in the body, often ears or sinuses. If bacterial meningitis is not treated within hours, it can lead to death or permanent brain injury.
Blood
The life-maintaining fluid which is made up of plasma, red blood cells (erythrocytes), white blood cells (leukocytes), and platelets; blood circulates through the body's heart, arteries, veins, and capillaries; it carries away waste matter and carbon dioxide, and brings nourishment, electrolytes, hormones, vitamins, antibodies, heat, and oxygen to the tissues.
Cerebrospinal
Relating to the brain and the spinal cord.
Parasite
An organism that lives on or in the tissues of another organism and draws its nourishment from the host.
Fish
Abbreviation for fluorescence in situ hybridization, a molecular technique used in chromosome studies. FISH employs fluorescent (fluorescein tags) that glow under ultraviolet light to detect the hybridization (the combination) of molecular probes with specific chromosomes and specific chromosome regions. In FISH, the process vividly paints chromosomes or portions of chromosomes with fluorescent molecules.
Infection
Anything that invades the body and reproduces. Infections can be bacteria, protozoa, fungi, or viruses. Bacteria and fungi are one celled creatures that cause many infections including strep throat, bladder infections, and some lung infections. Fungi cause “athlete’s foot” and thrush, an infection in the mouth. Protozoa are small organisms with many cells that can cause infections in the guts or in the lungs. Most healthy people do not get protozoal infections, but people with suppressed immune systems can. Viruses are not really organisms; they are tiny particles that can live only inside another cell. They reproduce by taking over a cell and causing that cell to make more virus particles, rather than doing what the cell is supposed to do. Viruses cause most colds and flu cases.
Consumption
"1. Using up. 2. Wasting of the body; especially used in reference to advanced tuberculosis."
Meninges
Membranes which surround and protect the brain and spinal cord; anatomically there are 3 meninges: the pia mater, which adheres to the brain and the spinal cord, the dura mater, which adheres to the bone and the arachnoid between these two membranes.
Brain
"That part of the central nervous system that is located within the cranium (skull). The brain functions as the primary receiver, organizer and distributor of information for the body. It has two (right and left) halves called ""hemispheres."" "
CSF
See cerebrospinal fluid.
SIMILAR TERMS--------------------------------------
Eosinophil
A polymorphonuclear leukocyte with large eosinophilic (i.e. red) cytoplasmic granules.
Eosinophil chemotactic factor of anaphylaxis (ECF-A)
A substrate released from mast cells during anaphylaxis which attracts eosinophils.
Eosinophilia
An abnormally high number of eosinophils in the blood. Normally, eosinophils constitute 1 to 3% of the peripheral blood leukocytes, at a count of 350 to 650 per cubic millimeter. Eosinophilia can be categorized as mild (less than 1500 eosinophils per cubic millimeter), moderate (1500 to 5000 per cubic millimeter), or severe (more than 5000 per cubic millimeter).
Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome
Resembles eosinophilic fasciitis - due to L-Tryptophan.
Eosinophilic fasciitis
A scleroderma-like condition in which there is skin thickening and tethering with oedema along with thickening of the sub-epidermal fascia and infiltration with eosinophils. (Shulman's syndrome)
Eosinophilic gastroenteritis
Infection and swelling of the lining of the stomach, small intestine, or large intestine. The infection is caused by white blood cells (eosinophils).
Eosinophilic granuloma
A form of Histiocytosis-X. A rare cause of back pain in adolescence which may cause vertebral collapse.
PREVIOUS AND NEXT TERMS--------------------------------------
Enzymes
Proteins that act as a catalysts in mediating and speeding a specific chemical reaction.
Enzymes, yellow
A group of respiratory enzymes that catalyze reactions in the body permitting cells to respire or breathe. These biochemical reactions are termed oxidation-reduction reactions.
EOG
Electro-oculography. A type of electrophysiologic retinal testing.
EOS
The gene for familial eosinophilia. EOS has been mapped to chromosome region 5q31-33 containing the cytokine gene cluster which includes the genes for interleukin-3 (IL-3), interleukin-5 (IL-5), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), and all of which are thought play roles in the development, proliferation, and activation of eosinophils.
Eosinophilia
An abnormally high number of eosinophils in the blood. Normally, eosinophils constitute 1 to 3% of the peripheral blood leukocytes, at a count of 350 to 650 per cubic millimeter. Eosinophilia can be categorized as mild (less than 1500 eosinophils per cubic millimeter), moderate (1500 to 5000 per cubic millimeter), or severe (more than 5000 per cubic millimeter).
Eosinophilic meningitis
Ephelides
The plural of ephelis, a type of freckle. Ephelis and ephelides are among the many medical terms that are rarely, if ever, encountered outside of medicine.
Ephelis
A form of freckle. A flat red or light-brown spot on the skin that typically appears during the sunny months and fades in the winter. They are most often found in people with light complexions and in some families, they are an hereditary (genetic) trait. The regular use of sunscreen during times of sun exposure helps to suppress the appearance of the ephelis-type freckle.
Epicanthal fold
A fold of skin that comes down across the inner angle (canthus) of the eye. The epicanthal fold is more common in children with Down syndrome and other birth defects than normal children and so is of value in diagnosis. Although some dictionaries state that this eye fold is found in peoples of Asian origin, this is not true. The normal Asian eyefold is continuous with the lower edge of the upper eyelid and actually appears distinctly different than a true epicanthal fold.
Epidemic
The occurrence of more cases of a disease than would be expected in a community or region during a given time period. A sudden severe outbreak of a disease such as SARS.
Epidemic hemorrhagic fever
A number of diseases characterized by an abrupt onset of high fever and chills, headache, cold and cough, and pain in the muscles, joints and abdomen with nausea and vomiting followed by bleeding into the kidney and elsewhere. Known also as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Many arboviruses (including those in the families Togaviridae, Flaviviridae, Filoviridae, and Bunyaviridae) and the Hantaviruses, spread by rodents or biting insects, can cause epidemic hemorrhagic fever. The Ebola virus is a notorious cause of epidemic hemorrhagic fever.
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