Entamoeba histolytica is a pseudopod-forming non-flagellate protozoan parasite. Based on isoenzyme analysis, typing by monoclonal antibodies to surface antigens and restriction length polymorphism, E. histolytica has been reclassified into two species which are morphologically identical: E. histolytica, an invasive disease-causing organism and E. dispar, a Entamoeba histolytica is a pseudopod-forming non-flagellate protozoan parasite.
The subspherical cyst form of E. histolytica ranges from 10 to 20 nm in diameter and is surrounded by a hyaline-like cyst wall. This form of the organism is present only within the lumen of the colon and in the feces. It is uninucleated and contains within its cytoplasm a large glycogen vacuole and chromatoidal bodies.
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A disease identified in 1990 that is spread by the type of ticks that also carry LYME DISEASE. The newly identified illness has stricken at least 80 people nationwide, killing 4. Although the disease can be treated with antibiotics, treatment is often delayed because victims confuse it with a summer flu. If it is treated early and properly, the disease is not associated with neurological damage or arthritis.
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Valves previously affected by rheumatic fever and other valve diseases are thick, rough, and swollen. Bacteria that gain entry into the bloodstream on their way through the heart may attach to the roughened valve surface and set up an area of infection. This bacteria may grow to form an “abscess” on the valve. The abscess resembles a clump of moss that swings and sways on the valve leaflet as it opens and closes.
Infection of the heart valves is called infective or bacterial endocarditis. Usually the infection is by bacteria, thus the term bacterial endocarditis, but infections caused by fungi, Coxiella, or chlamydiae can occur, thus the term infective endocarditis is used by many physicians.
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Controversial Diets

These controversial diets include the Dean Ornish program and the Atkins diet.
The Dean Ornish program advises a low-fat, vegetarian approach coupled with exercise, stress reduction, and smoking cessation. This diet appears to reduce the risk of CAD, but again the reduction is modest and only formally tested by coronary angiograms in a few individuals. There is no randomized trial or large trial that has tested this diet. In addition, cessation of smoking is vitally important, but stress reduction and exercise are additive. Thus, the effect of the Ornish dietary program has not proven its value and is particularly difficult to follow for the long period of time necessary to significantly alter the risk for coronary events.

The Atkins- type diet was tested in a small study conducted in only 45 adults. The 45 adults were randomized and assigned to eat a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet or a low calorie, high-carbohydrate, low fat [incorrectly called ''conventional diet'']. After a short period of only three months, the dangerous plasma LDL cholesterol increased in the low-carbohydrate, high-fat group and decreased slightly in the low-fat group. Thus the Atkins-type diet may substantially increase the risk for atheroma development and progression in individuals who have a propensity to develop cardiovascular disease (see the chapters Obesity and Heart Disease and Atherosclerosis/ Atherothrombosis).

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DURING THE PAST DECADE THERE HAVE BEEN considerable advances in the use of chemotherapy for the treatment of the various cancers such as Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, acute leukemias, colorectal and lung cancer, and local tumor control particularly with breast cancer. Metastases to various organs causes untold suffering and pain. Chemotherapy is effective in many patients, but its toxic effects on the heart, particularly on the myocardium, often limit their use in patients who may need these agents the most. Most important, cardio-myopathy caused by chemotherapeutic agents causes death in a significant number of patients. Further research is required to provide new effective agents with less toxicity.
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Epidemiologic Studies strongly support the hypothesis that cigarette smoking increases the incidence of fatal and nonfatal heart attacks. But, despite a world full of researchers, the exact constituent which resides in cigarette smoke and the pathophysiologic mechanisms responsible for cardiac events remain unknown. Ambrose et al., in an informative review, emphasize the lack of clear answers.
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Infection with this organism was first described by Nocard in 1888. Its place in the spectrum of suppurative diseases became clearer in the mid-twentieth century, especially when it was noted to be an accompaniment of alveolar proteinosis. This organism has been found in soil all over the world. There are many confusing elements to this infection, not the least being the weak acid-fast nature of the hyphae and their tendency to fragment and resemble bacilli. The organism has many cousins that cause a variety of serious skin lesions.
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Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis, with a worldwide prevalence of 1%. It affects women more frequently than men, in a ratio of 3:1. Rheumatoid arthritis is a symmetric, inflammatory polyarthritis with a myriad of extra-articular features. Pulmonary manifestations range from common pleural effusions to rare bronchiolitis obliterans. The diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis is based on the characteristic historical feature of morning stiffness, evidence on physical examination of swollen and tender joints, and supportive laboratory data, including a high titer of serum rheumatoid factors and characteristic bone erosion detected by radiograph. The American College of Rheumatology has developed rheumatoid arthritis classification criteria useful in clinical studies. Rheumatoid arthritis causes substantial morbidity, predominantly from progressive joint destruction, that results in a 50% work disability rate after 10 years of active disease. Rheumatoid arthritis also leads to premature mortality, shortening life expectancy by 8 to 13 years on average. Mortality is most often related to infectious illnesses. Rheumatoid arthritis is strongly associated with an increased frequency of the class II major histocompatibility complex (MhC) serotype HLA-DR4, and specific DR4 haplotypes (HLA-DRB1*0401 and *0404) predict more severe rheumatoid arthritis.
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An extra X chromosome that occurs in about one in 1,000 baby boys. There can be multiple X chromosomes. The greater the number of X chromosomes present, the more the physical abnormalities. Patients with Klinefelter syndrome usually develop hypogonadism and infertility due to the absence of sperm in the semen (azoospermia) and other health problems.
Dr. Harry Klinefelter first identified the condition in 1942.
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A skeletal deformity, usually inherited, that causes below-normal height (usually the individual is less than four feet, 10 inches in height) and often results in other characteristic features, such as a broad forehead, a large head compared with the body, and disproportionately short arms and legs. (Individuals with pituitary dwarfism, however, have arms and legs that are proportional to their bodies.) In rare cases, dwarfism is caused by a growth hormone deficiency. There are an estimated 200 different types of dwarfism. However, the most common form is achondroplasia, which represents about 50 percent of all cases.
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