Diseases

Leiomyosarcoma

A leiomyosarcoma belongs to a group of cancers called soft tissue sarcomas. Sarcomas are cancers that develop in the supporting or connective tissues of the body (such as muscle, fat, nerves, blood vessels, bone, and cartilage). They are rare. Approximately 1,200–2,000 people will be diagnosed with a sarcoma each year in the UK. Most people with leiomyosarcoma will be over the age of 50.

Leipala Kaitila syndrome

A very rare syndrome characterized mainly by short stature and abnormal segmentation of the vertebrae in the abdominal segment of the spine

Leishmaniasis

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease spread by the bite of infected sand flies. There are several different forms of leishmaniasis. The most common are cutaneous and visceral. The cutaneous type causes skin sores. The visceral type affects internal organs such as the spleen, liver and bone marrow. People with this form usually have fever, weight loss, and an enlarged spleen and liver. Visceral disease can be deadly without proper treatment. Leishmaniasis is found in parts of the Middle East, Central America, South American, Asia, Africa, and southern Europe. Most of these countries are in the tropics and subtropics. 

Leishmaniasis is considered one of the classic causes of a markedly enlarged (and therefore palpable) spleen; the organ, which is not normally felt during examination of the abdomen, may even become larger than the liver in severe cases.

Leisti Hollister Rimoin syndrome

A triad of short stature, speech and psychomotor development delay, and facial anomalies. The original cases were reported at the Boston Floating Hospital and Harbor General Hospital, Torrance, California, hence the name Floating-Harbor syndrome. Source - Diseases Database

Lemierre’s syndrome

Lemierre's syndrome (or Lemierre's disease, also known as postanginal sepsis and human necrobacillosis) is a disease usually caused by the bacterium Fusobacterium necrophorum, and occasionally by other members of the genus Fusobacterium (F. nucleatum, F. mortiferum and F. varium etc.) and usually affects young, healthy adults. Lemierre syndrome develops most often after a strep sore throat has created a peritonsillar abscess, a crater filled with pus and bacteria near the tonsils. Deep in the abscess, anaerobic bacteria (microbes that do not require oxygen) like Fusobacterium necrophorum can flourish. The bacteria penetrate from the abscess into the neighboring jugular vein in the neck and there they cause an infected clot (thrombosis) to form, from which bacteria are seeded throughout the body by the bloodstream (bacteremia). Pieces of the infected clot break off and travel to the lungs as emboli blocking branches of the pulmonary artery bringing the heart's blood to the lungs. This causes shortness of breath, chest pain and severe pneumonia. Fusobacteria are normal inhabitants of the oropharyngeal flora. This is a very rare disease with only approximately 160 cases in the last 100 years.[1]

Lenegre disease

A rare degenerative disorder of the heart conduction system.

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome

Lennox–Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is a difficult-to-treat form of childhood-onset epilepsy that most often appears between the second and sixth year of life. LGS is characterized by a triad of signs including frequent seizures of multiple types, an abnormal EEG pattern of less than 2.5 Hz slow spike wave activity, and moderate to severe intellectual impairment.

Lentigo maligna melanoma

Lentigo maligna melanoma is a melanoma that has evolved from a lentigo maligna. They are usually found on chronically sun damaged skin such as the face and the forearms of the elderly. The nomeclature is very confusing to both patients, dermatologists, and pathologists alike. Lentigo maligna is the non-invasive skin growth that some pathologists consider to be a melanoma-in-situ. A few pathologists do not consider lentigo maligna to be a melanoma at all, but a precursor to melanomas. Once a lentigo maligna becomes a lentigo maligna melanoma, it is treated as if it were an invasive melanoma.

LEOPARD syndrome- 1

LEOPARD syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant, multisystem disease caused by a mutation in the protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 11 gene (PTPN11). The disease is a complex of features, mostly involving the skin, skeletal and cardiovascular systems, they may or may not be present in all patients. The nature of how the mutation causes each of the condition's symptoms is not well known, however research is ongoing. Related to Noonan syndrome, LEOPARD syndrome is caused by a different missense mutation of the same gene. LEOPARD syndrome may also be called multiple lentigines syndrome, cardiomyopathic lentiginosis, Gorlin's syndrome II, Capute-Rimoin-Konigsmark-Esterly-Richardson syndrome, or Moynahan syndrome. Noonan syndrome is fairly common (1:1000 to 1:2500 live births), and neurofibromatosis 1 (which was once thought to be related to LEOPARD syndrome) is also common (1:3500), but however no epidemiologic data exists for LEOPARD syndrome

LEOPARD syndrome- 2

LEOPARD syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant, multisystem disease caused by a mutation in the protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 11 gene (PTPN11). The disease is a complex of features, mostly involving the skin, skeletal and cardiovascular systems, they may or may not be present in all patients. The nature of how the mutation causes each of the condition's symptoms is not well known, however research is ongoing. Related to Noonan syndrome, LEOPARD syndrome is caused by a different missense mutation of the same gene. LEOPARD syndrome may also be called multiple lentigines syndrome, cardiomyopathic lentiginosis, Gorlin's syndrome II, Capute-Rimoin-Konigsmark-Esterly-Richardson syndrome, or Moynahan syndrome. Noonan syndrome is fairly common (1:1000 to 1:2500 live births), and neurofibromatosis 1 (which was once thought to be related to LEOPARD syndrome) is also common (1:3500), but however no epidemiologic data exists for LEOPARD syndrome.

Leprechaunism

A very rare genetic disorder characterized by insulin resistance which leads to growth delay and endocrine system abnormalities.

Leprosy

Leprosy (from the Greek lepi (λέπι), meaning scales on a fish), or Hansen's disease, is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis.[1][2] Leprosy is primarily a granulomatous disease of the peripheral nerves and mucosa of the upper respiratory tract; skin lesions are the primary external symptom.[3] Left untreated, leprosy can be progressive, causing permanent damage to the skin, nerves, limbs and eyes. Contrary to popular belief, leprosy does not actually cause body parts to simply fall off

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis (also known as Weil's disease, Weil's syndrome, canicola fever, canefield fever, nanukayami fever, 7-day fever and many more[1]) is a bacterial zoonotic disease caused by spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira that affects humans and a wide range of animals, including mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. It was first described by Adolf Weil in 1886 when he reported an "acute infectious disease with enlargement of spleen, jaundice and nephritis". Leptospira was first observed in 1907 from a post mortem renal tissue slice.

Leri pleonosteosis

A ver rare inherited disorder involving skeletal malformations, short stature and flat facial features.

Leri-Weill syndrome

A rare genetic disorder characterized by short forearms, madelung deformity and short lower legs in some cases

Lethal congenital contracture syndrome 2

A rare inherited lethal disorder characterized by multiple congenital contractures. There are two main types caused by different genetic defects. Type 2 differs from type 1 in that it includes additional head, face and eye symptoms and hydrops, joint webbing and fractures were usually absent.

Letterer-Siwe disease

Letterer-Siwe disease is a type of histiocytosis[1] (a condition where histiocytes proliferate in the body.) It is sometimes classified as a form of Langerhans cell histiocytosis,[2] or as a form of histiocytosis X.[3] It is most commonly seen in children less than two years old. It is named for Erich Letterer and Sture Siwe

Leucocyte adhesion defect

Leukocyte-adhesion deficiency (abbreviated LAD), is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by immunodeficiency resulting in recurrent infections.[1] The disorder is often divided into two separate genotypes called type I and type II, with type II being associated with fewer infections but more developmental delay

Leukodystrophy- psuedometachromatic

Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD, also called Arylsulfatase A deficiency) is a lysosomal storage disease which is commonly listed in the family of leukodystrophies. Leukodystrophiea effect the growth and/or development of myelin, the fatty covering which acts as an insulator around nerve fibers throughout the central and peripherial nervous systems.

Leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter

Leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter is a progressive disorder that mainly affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). This disorder causes deterioration of the central nervous system's white matter, which consists of nerve fibers covered by myelin. Myelin is the fatty substance that insulates and protects nerves.

In most cases, people with leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter show no signs or symptoms of the disorder at birth. Affected children may have slightly delayed development of motor skills such as crawling or walking. During early childhood, most affected individuals begin to develop motor symptoms, including abnormal muscle stiffness (spasticity) and difficulty with coordinating movements (ataxia). There may also be some deterioration of mental functioning, but this is not usually as pronounced as the motor symptoms. Some affected females may have abnormal development of the ovaries (ovarian dysgenesis). Specific changes in the brain as seen using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are characteristic of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter, and may be visible before the onset of symptoms.

While childhood onset is the most common form of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter, some severe forms are apparent at birth. A severe, early-onset form seen among the Cree and Chippewayan populations of Quebec and Manitoba is called Cree leukoencephalopathy. Milder forms may not become evident until adolescence or adulthood, when behavioral or psychiatric problems may be the first signs of the disease. Some females with milder forms ofleukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter who survive to adolescence exhibit ovarian dysfunction. This variant of the disorder is called ovarioleukodystrophy.

Progression of leukoencephalopathy with vanishing white matter is generally uneven, with periods of relative stability interrupted by episodes of rapid decline. People with this disorder are particularly vulnerable to stresses such as infection, mild head trauma or other injury, or even extreme fright. These stresses may trigger the first symptoms of the condition or worsen existing symptoms, and can cause affected individuals to become lethargic or comatose.