Letters to a Rockstar

IS THIS A REAL DISEASE???

HEY! I WANTED TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF MEDICAL INFO ABOUT THIS DISEASE. 

IT IS A REAL DISEASE. THERE IS NO CURE FOR THIS DISEASE AS OF YET. HISTIOCYTOSIS IS A DISEASE THAT AFFECTS MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND INFANTS. THEY ARE USUALLY BORN WITH IT. 

BELOW IS SOME INFO I PULLED FROM OFFLINE.

Histiocytosis is also referred to as, "Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH)," or more formally as, "Histiocytosis X," and represents a group of rare disorders involving specific cells that usually have important roles as part of a person's immune system.

In medicine, histiocytosis refers to an excessive number of histiocytes, (tissue macrophages), and is typically used to refer to a group of rare diseases which share this as a characteristic. Occasionally and confusingly, the term "histiocytosis" is sometimes used to refer to individual diseases. Although nearly a century has passed since histiocytic disorders were recognized, their pathophysiology has started to be elucidated with the application of molecular analyses

In histiocytosis, the histiocytes move into a person's tissues where they are not usually found and cause damage to those tissues. These proliferating immune cells might form tumors, which can affect various parts of the person's body.

LCH is often times classified as a single system, when the disease affects only one part of the person's body, or multisystem when it affects more than one part of the person's body. In children, histiocytosis usually involves the bones and might consist of single or multiple sites. The child's skull is frequently affected. Children over the age of five usually have the single system disease, with just bone involvement. Young children, particularly infants, are more likely to experience the multisystem disease.

Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis Synonyms

LCHhistiocytosis XLetterer-Siwe diseaseeosinophilic granulomaAbt-Letterer-Siwe diseaseself-healing histiocytosisHashimoto-Pritzker syndromepure cutaneous histiocytosisHand-Schueller-Christian syndrome

While the cause of LCH is still not known, it can frequently behave like cancer and because of this is treated by cancer specialists. 'Histiocytosis,' is a generic name for a group of syndromes characterized by an abnormal increase in the number of certain immune cells called, 'histiocytes,' which include macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells.

A, 'histiocyte,' is an immune cell that is found in several parts of a person's body, especially in a person's:

SkinLiverLungsSpleenBlood streamBone marrowLymph glands

In histiocytosis, the histiocytes move into a person's tissues where they are not usually found and cause damage to those tissues. These proliferating immune cells might form tumors, which can affect various parts of the person's body.

LCH is often times classified as a single system, when the disease affects only one part of the person's body, or multisystem when it affects more than one part of the person's body. In children, histiocytosis usually involves the bones and might consist of single or multiple sites. The child's skull is frequently affected. Children over the age of five usually have the single system disease, with just bone involvement. Young children, particularly infants, are more likely to experience the multisystem disease.

Symptoms of Histiocytosis

The first sign of histiocytosis is often times a rash on the person's scalp, similar to cradle cap. The person may experience pain in a bone, discharge from their ear, a fever and loss of appetite. At times the person's stomach becomes swollen and painful. On occasion, an area of the person's brain known as the pituitary gland is affected and may lead to the person passing large amounts of urine and being very thirsty. Additional potential signs and symptoms include the following: