Symptoms running together. That doesn't really help me or my patient understand what might be the underlying causes, and what might be specific treatments. So what are a few syndromes? That's a bad word, sin, so syndrome, I don't like it. Syndromes are defined by a group of signs or symptoms.
And you may not have to have all of them, but you might have two from one group and one from the other to have a syndrome. It is not a disease. Some women with a syndrome aren't really very ill. And there is no clearly understood process that pulls all the patients together into a group that has a single cause and a defined cure. See why my patients and I are frustrated? Sometimes a syndrome is a bunch of symptoms that we aren't smart enough yet to understand, and the underlying specific disease process and treatment has not been figured out yet.
So let's look at these three examples of syndromes in women. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, more common in women than men and we don't know why. We don't know the cause and we're not really sure of the symptoms. Some women have diarrhea. Some women have constipation. Some have both, and some just have bloating and belly discomfort. But if you have to have some symptoms to run with the Irritable Bowel Syndrome, so you've got to have some kind of bowel symptom.
We don't have a good cause and we don't have a good cure and we don't have a very good treatment. Now, the thing about IBS is that there are some diseases that run with the syndrome. Crohn's Disease, chronic diarrhea from infectious agents like worms or parasites like giardia, and when you have a syndrome you and your clinician need to rule out specific diseases that run with the syndrome, specific diseases with specific causes and specific treatments.
How about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Again, more common in women than men. This condition includes a number of debilitating symptoms of fatigue, dizziness, mental confusion, and a number of other symptoms. Recently, it's been given a new name that's confusing to non-clinicians but perhaps better describes the symptoms, myalgic encephelomyelitis. Hear what I mean by it's confusing? Currently, there are no tests and no specific treatments because, so far, this is a syndrome.
However, some women with symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome have a specific underlying disease. Medical syndromes can be caused by genetic mutations or other factors. Sometimes, a syndrome can be caused by a number of diseases or it can be a medical condition itself. For example, chronic fatigue syndrome is a neurological condition, diagnosed from a collection of symptoms in addition to the main symptom of post-exertional malaise.
The AMA Style Insider provided a comprehensive overview of the origins of disease, condition and disorder which you can read here.
You can also read this overview on DifferenceBetween. Do you have trouble articulating the differences between diseases, disorders, syndromes and conditions? Dinethra Menon is a medical and science writer with over a decade of experience communicating and writing medical education for doctors. She has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne and a postgraduate diploma in genetic counseling. Dinethra is a member of the Health Writer Hub Alumni.
Friend's Email Address. Your Name. A disease is distinct and measurable. A disorder might indicate that a specific disease is possible but there is not enough clinical evidence for diagnosis. It may be clear you have an autoimmune disorder of some sort, but it may take time to receive a specific diagnosis like RA.
A syndrome is a group of symptoms associated with a specific cause. With autoimmune disease, symptoms vary depending on the type of disease. Autoimmune diseases are often classified into two groups, organ-specific or systemic. In organ-specific autoimmune diseases, the symptoms will affect or be caused by one specific organ. The symptoms associated with those diseases will center around the thyroid. When the autoimmune disease is systemic, meaning it affects the entire body.
For example, in systemic lupus erythematosus SLE or lupus , any organ of the body can be affected such as the heart, skin, brain, and kidneys. Knowing the specific symptoms, or syndrome can help a healthcare provider diagnose the responsible disease. Syndromes are groups of symptoms associated with a disease.
Knowing the syndrome can help diagnose the disease. A condition indicates your state of health. It is an abnormal state that feels different from your normal state of wellbeing. Living with an autoimmune disease can be unpredictable but keeping an open line of communication with your healthcare provider is key to living well with any disease.
You might have clusters of symptoms that correspond to certain syndromes or disorders and your condition can remain in flux. With autoimmune diseases, there can be good and bad days but working with your healthcare provider to reach a specific diagnosis of a disease can help you manage your health. Dealing with chronic inflammation? An anti-inflammatory diet can help. Our free recipe guide shows you the best foods to fight inflammation. Get yours today! National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Autoimmune diseases. Diagnoses, syndromes, and diseases: a knowledge representation problem. Illness, disease, and sickness absence: an empirical test of differences between concepts of ill health. J Epidemiol Community Health. Boyd KM. Disease, illness, sickness, health, healing and wholeness: exploring some elusive concepts. Med Humanit. Rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmune responses are directed against self antigens.
New York: Garland Science; AMA Style Insider. Condition, disease, disorder.
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