Prevalence and Incidence of Alpers Syndrome
Prevalance of Alpers Syndrome:
rare ... see also overview of Alpers Syndrome.
Alpers Syndrome: Rare Disease
Alpers Syndrome is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of
Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). This means that Alpers Syndrome, or a subtype of Alpers Syndrome,
affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Alpers Syndrome Prevalence: Book Excerpts
Prevalence/Incidence of Alpers Syndrome: Online Medical Books
16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE!
Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration,
for more information about the prevalence and/or incidence of Alpers Syndrome.
Viral hepatitis:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
The major forms of viral hepatitis result from infection with the causative viruses: A, B, C, D, E, or G.
Type A hepatitis is highly contagious and is usually transmitted by the fecal-oral route. However, it may also be transmitted parenterally. Hepatitis A usually results from ingestion of contaminated food, milk, or water. Many outbreaks of this type are traced to ingestion of seafood from polluted water. In 2001, there were more than 10,000 acute cases of hepatitis A infection reported in the United States.
Type B hepatitis, once thought to be transmitted only by the direct exchange of contaminated blood, is now known to be transmitted also by contact with human secretions and feces. As a result, nurses, physicians, laboratory technicians, and dentists are frequently exposed to type B hepatitis, in many cases as a result of wearing defective gloves. Transmission also occurs during intimate sexual contact as well as through perinatal transmission. An estimated 200,000 new cases of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and 5,000 deaths from HBV occur annually in the United States.
Although specific type C hepatitis viruses have been isolated, only a small percentage of patients have tested positive for them — perhaps reflecting the test’s poor specificity. Usually, this type of hepatitis is transmitted through transfused blood from asymptomatic donors. Hepatitis C accounts for 30,000 new infections and 8,000 to 10,000 deaths each year in the United States. Most exposures (60%) occur through the use of illicit I.V. drugs. However, sexual transmission is responsible for 20% of cases. More than 170 million people have the hepatitis C virus worldwide.
Type D hepatitis is found only in patients with an acute or chronic episode of hepatitis B and requires the presence of HBsAg. The type D virus depends on the double-shelled type B virus to replicate. For this reason, type D infection can’t outlast a type B infection. About 15 million people are infected with hepatitis D worldwide. It’s more common in adults than in children. People with a history of illicit I.V. drug use and people who live in the Mediterranean basin have a higher incidence.
Type E hepatitis is transmitted enterically, much like type A. Because this virus is inconsistently shed in feces, detection is difficult. In the United States, the prevalence of hepatitis E is less than 2%. It’s typically found in developing countries that lie near the equator. Incidence is highest among people ages 15 to 40.
Type G may be transmitted in a manner similar to that of hepatitis C. It may also be transmitted by sexual contact, and its incidence may be higher than previously suspected. It’s associated with acute and chronic liver disease, but studies haven’t clearly implicated the hepatitis G virus as an etiologic agent.
Other proposed causative factors, such as non-ABCDE viral hepatitis and type F, are under investigation.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Cirrhosis and fibrosis:
Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))
These clinical types of cirrhosis reflect its diverse etiology:
❑ Portal, nutritional, or alcoholic (Laennec’s) cirrhosis, the most common type, occurs in 30% to 50% of cirrhotic patients, up to 90% of whom have a history of alcoholism. Liver damage results from malnutrition, especially of dietary protein, and chronic alcohol ingestion. Fibrous tissue forms in portal areas and around central veins.
❑ Biliary cirrhosis (15% to 20% of patients) results from injury or prolonged obstruction.
❑ Postnecrotic (posthepatic) cirrhosis (10% to 30% of patients) stems from various types of hepatitis.
❑ Pigment cirrhosis (5% to 10% of patients) may result from disorders such as hemochromatosis.
❑ Cardiac cirrhosis (rare) refers to liver damage caused by right-sided heart failure.
❑ Idiopathic cirrhosis (about 10% of patients) has no known cause.
Noncirrhotic fibrosis may result from schistosomiasis or congenital hepatic fibrosis or may be idiopathic.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005
Chronic Hepatitis:
Chronic Hepatitis - epidemiology
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)
Depends on the cause of the underlying disease:
- Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a leading cause of elevated AST/ALT.
- Hepatitis B: Common in immigrant children from Asia and Eastern Europe
- Hepatitis C: Common in those who had blood transfusions and blood products before screening became available, users of IV drugs, nasal cocaine users
- Wilson disease presents mainly in older children and adults.
- Autoimmune liver disease is more common in females and older children.
- Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) may be associated with other autoimmune conditions such as diabetes, ulcerative colitis, autoimmune thyroiditis, and celiac disease.
- Cystic fibrosis and α
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008
Cirrhosis:
Cirrhosis - epidemiology
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)
- Based on the varying causes, no specific epidemiologic pattern can be identified.
- Cirrhosis due to chronic HCV infection is the most common indication for liver transplantation in adults.
- Biliary cirrhosis due to biliary atresia is the most common indication for liver transplantation in children.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008
Hepatitis:
Epidemiology and Etiology
(Pediatric Infectious Disease)
Hepatitis A is the most common viral etiology of pediatric hepatitis. The mode
of transmission is person to person, resulting from fecal contamination of
food. Sexual contact and nosocomial transmission have also been documented.
» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »
Source: Pediatric Infectious Disease, 2004
About prevalence and incidence statistics:
The term 'prevalence' of Alpers Syndrome usually refers to the estimated population
of people who are managing Alpers Syndrome at any given time.
The term 'incidence' of Alpers Syndrome refers to the annual diagnosis rate,
or the number of new cases of Alpers Syndrome diagnosed each year.
Hence, these two statistics types can differ:
a short-lived disease like flu can have high annual incidence but low prevalence,
but a life-long disease like diabetes has a low annual incidence but high prevalence.
For more information see about prevalence and incidence statistics.
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