Alert Adrenal crisis produces profound weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, hypotension, dehydration and, occasionally, high fever followed by hypothermia. If untreated, this condition can ultimately lead to vascular collapse, renal shutdown, coma, and death.
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Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Early signs and symptoms of mental impairment may include slowness in thinking, difficulty concentrating, impaired judgment, and memory loss. Dementia is progressive and occurs early. Involuntary movements, such as muscle twitching, trembling, and peculiar body movements, and visual disturbances, appear with disease progression and advancing mental deterioration. Hallucinations are also common. Duration of the typical illness is 4 months.
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Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Encephalitis:
Signs and Symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Sudden onset of fever, headache, vomiting, meningeal irritation (stiff neck and back), drowsiness, coma, paralysis, seizures, ataxia, psychoses
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Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
West Nile encephalitis:
Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
Mild infections of the virus are more common and include fever, headache, and body aches, usually accompanied by a skin rash and swollen lymph glands. Severe infections can be manifested by headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions, paralysis and, rarely, death.
The incubation period for West Nile encephalitis is anywhere from 5 to 15 days after exposure. Most patients who are bitten by an infected mosquito won’t develop symptoms. It's estimated that only 1 in 300 people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will actually get sick.
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Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Adrenal hypofunction:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Signs and symptoms vary with the type of adrenal hypofunction.
Primary hypofunction
Addison’s disease typically produces weakness, fatigue, weight loss, nausea, vomiting, and anorexia. Asthenia (constant fatigue) is the cardinal symptom, most evident in times of stress.
The disorder also usually causes a conspicuous bronze coloration of the skin. The patient appears to be deeply suntanned, especially in the creases of the hands and over the metacarpophalangeal joints, the elbows, and the knees. He also may exhibit a darkening of scars, areas of vitiligo (absence of pigmentation), and increased pigmentation of the mucous membranes, especially the buccal mucosa. Such abnormal skin and mucous membrane coloration results from decreased secretion of cortisol (a glucocorticoid), which causes the pituitary gland to simultaneously secrete excessive amounts of corticotropin and melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH).
Associated cardiovascular abnormalities include orthostatic hypotension, decreased cardiac size and output, and a weak, irregular pulse.
Other signs and symptoms include decreased tolerance for even minor stress, fasting hypoglycemia (due to decreased gluconeogenesis), and a craving for salty food due to decreased mineralocorticoid secretion, which normally causes salt retention.
GENDER INFLUENCE: In women with adrenal hypofunction, androgen levels are low, though they may be treated with daily replacement of 25 to 50 mg of dehydroepiandrosterone to improve quality of life and skeletal density. Also, axillary and pubic hair may be decreased due to loss of adrenal androgens.
Secondary hypofunction
Secondary hypofunction produces signs and symptoms similar to those of primary hypofunction but without hyperpigmentation because corticotropin and MSH levels are low. Because aldosterone secretion may continue at fairly normal levels in those with secondary adrenal hypofunction, this condition doesn’t necessarily cause accompanying hypotension and electrolyte abnormalities.
Adrenal crisis
Besides producing profound weakness, adrenal crisis also causes fatigue, nausea, vomiting, hypotension, dehydration and, occasionally, high fever followed by hypothermia. If untreated, this condition can ultimately lead to vascular collapse, renal shutdown, coma, and death.
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Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Early signs and symptoms of mental impairment may include slowness in thinking, difficulty concentrating, impaired judgment, and memory loss. Dementia is progressive and occurs early. With disease progression and mental deterioration, involuntary movements, such as muscle twitching, trembling, and peculiar body movements, and vision disturbances appear. Hallucinations also are common. Duration of the typical illness is 4 months.
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Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Encephalitis:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
All viral forms of encephalitis have similar clinical features, although certain differences do occur.
Usually, the acute illness begins with sudden onset of fever, headache, and vomiting and progresses to include signs and symptoms of meningeal irritation (stiff neck and back) and neuronal damage (drowsiness, coma, paralysis, seizures, ataxia, and organic psychoses). After the acute phase of the illness, coma may persist for days or weeks.
The severity of arbovirus encephalitis may range from subclinical to rapidly fatal necrotizing disease. Herpes encephalitis also produces signs and symptoms that vary from subclinical to acute and commonly fatal fulminating disease. Associated effects include disturbances of taste or smell.
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Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
West Nile encephalitis:
Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)
Mild WNV infections are more common than severe infections and include symptoms such as fever, headache, and body aches, often accompanied by swollen lymph glands and a skin rash. Severe infections present with symptoms such as headache, high fever, neck stiffness, stupor, disorientation, coma, tremors, occasional convulsions, paralysis and, rarely, death.
The incubation period for West Nile encephalitis is 5 to 15 days after exposure.
CLINICAL TIP: Researchers estimate that only 1 in 300 people who are bitten by a mosquito infected with WNV actually develops the disease.
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Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003
Adrenoleukodystrophy as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions
When considering symptoms of Adrenoleukodystrophy, it is also important to consider Adrenoleukodystrophy as a possible cause of other medical conditions.
The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Adrenoleukodystrophy may cause:
- (Source - Diseases Database)