What is Reye's Syndrome?

What is Reye's Syndrome?

• Reye's Syndrome: A syndrome in children recovering from infection and associated with aspirin.
• Reye's Syndrome: A form of encephalopathy with fatty infiltration of the LIVER, characterized by brain EDEMA and VOMITING that may rapidly progress to SEIZURES; COMA; and DEATH. It is caused by a generalized loss of mitochondrial function leading to disturbances in fatty acid and CARNITINE metabolism.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Reye's Syndrome: acquired brain disorder following acute viral infections (especially influenza or chicken pox) in young children.
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Reye's Syndrome is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Reye's Syndrome, or a subtype of Reye's Syndrome, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Reye's Syndrome as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Reye's Syndrome: Introduction

Who gets Reye's Syndrome?

Patient Profile for Reye's Syndrome: Typically children but any age possible.

How serious is Reye's Syndrome?

Prognosis of Reye's Syndrome: Good for early diagnosis and treatment; degraded for delayed treatment or if the patient suffers seizures, coma or breathing difficulties.
Complications of Reye's Syndrome: see complications of Reye's Syndrome
Prognosis of Reye's Syndrome: Recovery from RS is directly related to the severity of the swelling of the brain. Some people recover completely, while others may sustain varying degrees of brain damage. Those cases in which the disorder progresses rapidly and the patient lapses into a coma have a poorer prognosis than those with a less severe course. Statistics indicate that when RS is diagnosed and treated in its early stages, chances of recovery are excellent. When diagnosis and treatment are delayed, the chances for successful recovery and survival are severely reduced. Unless RS is diagnosed and treated successfully, death is common, often within a few days. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Reye's Syndrome Information Page: NINDS)

What causes Reye's Syndrome?

Causes of Reye's Syndrome: see causes of Reye's Syndrome
Cause of Reye's Syndrome: A reaction to a viral infection that usually occurs when recovering from a virus.
Causes of Reye's Syndrome: The cause of RS remains a mystery. However studies have shown that using aspirin or salicylate-containing medications to treat viral illnesses increases the risk of developing RS. A physician should be consulted before giving a child any aspirin or anti-nausea medicines during a viral illness, which can mask the symptoms of RS. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Reye's Syndrome Information Page: NINDS)

What are the symptoms of Reye's Syndrome?

Symptoms of Reye's Syndrome: see symptoms of Reye's Syndrome

Complications of Reye's Syndrome: see complications of Reye's Syndrome

Onset of Reye's Syndrome: 6 months - 16 years

Reye's Syndrome: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Reye's Syndrome.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Reye's Syndrome.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Reye's Syndrome: see treatments for Reye's Syndrome
Prevention of Reye's Syndrome: see prevention of Reye's Syndrome
Research for Reye's Syndrome: see research for Reye's Syndrome

Name and Aliases of Reye's Syndrome

Main name of condition: Reye's Syndrome

RS, Reye-Johnson hepatic encephalopathy, liver degeneration, encephalopathy, encephalopathy, fatty hepatomegaly, fatty liver with encephalopathy

Reye's syndrome
Source - WordNet 2.1

Fatty Liver with Encephalopathy, RS (Reye syndrome), Fatty Liver with Encephalopathy, RS (Reye syndrome)
Source - Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Reye's Syndrome:

• Acute noninflammatory encephalopathy
• Inborn error of metabolism
• IEM
• Reye syndrome in children
• Hepatic failure
• Upper respiratory tract infection
• URTI
• Influenza
• Varicella
• Gastroenteritis
• Use of aspirin
• Aspirin use in children

 » Next page: Online Medical Textbooks for Reye's Syndrome

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