House Diagnosis Diary: Season 3

[Photo: © 2009 FOX Broadcasting Co.]

Here’s the continuation of the medical diaganoses that have been tackled by House and his team. These are from season 3:

• “Meaning”
  Addison’s disease (Richard) – Causes adrenals to shut down. Scurvy (Caren) – A disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus.
• “Cane and Able”
  Chimerism – Absorption of twin in the womb, causes left-over clumps of cells with foreign DNA. Treatment is removing twin’s cells.
• “Informed Consent”
  Amyloidosis – Congestive heart failure secondary to senile cardiac amyloidosis. Refers to a variety of conditions in which amyloid proteins are abnormally deposited in organs and/or tissues, causing disease.
• “Lines In The Sand”
  Baylisascaris raccoon roundworms – Treat with benzimidazole to kill worms and laser photocoagulation to fix eye.
• “Fools For Love”
  Hereditary Angioedema – Defective DNA keeps the body from making a critical protein.
• “Que Sera Sera”
  Carcinoma – A malignant cancer that arises from epithelial cells. Carcinomas invade surrounding tissues and organs and may metastasize, or spread, to lymph nodes and other sites.
• “Son of Coma Guy”
  MERRF Syndrome – Myoclonic Epilepsy with Ragged Red Fibers syndrome is a mitochondrial, an inherited condition that causes muscle weakness and poor night vision.
• “Whac-A-Mole”
  Chronic Granulomatous disease – Genetic disease. Body is unable to fight off certain bacterial and fungal infections.
• “Finding Judas”
  Erythropoietic Protoporphyria (EPP) – A common symptom is very painful photosensitivity, manifesting itself
  as a burning sensation on the surface of the skin, or simply, allergic to light.
• “Merry Little Christmas”
  Langerhans cell histiocytosis – A rare disease involving abnormal cells deriving from bone marrow and capable of migrating from skin to lymph nodes. Clinically, its manifestations range from isolated bone lesions to multi-systemic disease.
• “Words and Deeds”
  Spinal meningioma – Obstructing blood flow to brain causing false memories. Meningioma primary tumor of the central nervous system.
• “One Day, One Room”
  Chlamydia and pregnancy due to rape.
• “Needle In A Haystack”
  Swallowed toothpick, traveled through body, punctured organs.
• “Insensitive”
  Diphyllobothrium latum – A fish tape worm found in humans, absorbs vitamin B12, causing symptoms including abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, vomiting and weight loss.
• “Half-Wit”
  Takayasu syndrome – Takayasu’s arteritis is an inflammatory disease of unknown etiology that affects the aorta and its branches. It is an autoimmune disease normally found in Asian women. Treat with steroids.
• “Top Secret”
  Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia – A genetic disorder by definition, it is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner.
• “Fetal Position”
  Mirror syndrome (Emma) – A rare disorder affecting pregnant women. Its name reflects the fact that symptoms in the mother reflect symptoms in the fetus, and it presents significant risk to both. Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation (CCAM) – Usually an entire lobe of lung is replaced by a non-working cystic piece of abnormal lung tissue (Emma’s baby).

• “Airborne”
  Decompression sickness (Peng) – A person exposed to a decrease (nearly always after a big increase) in the pressure around the body. It is a type of diving hazard. Methyl bromide poisoning (Fran) – A recognized ozone-depleting chemical used as a pesticide until being phased out by most countries in the early 2000s. Mass hysteria (other passengers).
• “Act Your Age”
  Precocious puberty (due to externally applied testosterone) – Early puberty (pubic hair, breast or genital development) may result from natural early maturation or from several other conditions.
• “House Training”
  Staphylococcus aureus infection – The most common cause of staph infections, it is a spherical bacterium, frequently found in the nose and on the skin.
• “Family”
  Histoplasmosis – A fungal disease that primarily affects the lungs. It is common among AIDS patients because of their lowered immune system.
• “Resignation”
  Bacterial infection due to suicide attempt (patient drank drain cleaner).
• “The Jerk”
  Haemochromatosis – A hereditary disease characterized by excessive absorption of dietary iron resulting in a pathological increase in total body iron stores. Excess iron accumulates in tissues and organs disrupting their normal function.
• “Human Error”
  Congenital heart defect (infected third coronary artery ostium) – A congenital heart defect (CHD) is a defect in the structure of the heart and great vessels of a newborn. Most heart defects either obstruct blood flow in the heart or vessels near it or cause blood to flow through the heart in an abnormal pattern.