Popular Named Diseases, Disorders and Syndromes-Eponymous Diseases

Yesterday's news on the Havana Syndrome ( Senate Investigations) prompted my interest on Eponymous Diseases, Disorders and Syndromes. Have you heard of the Havana Syndrome? *

When I was in high school several of my classmates asked and consulted me often on the named Diseases, syndromes and disorders that they are curious of. Thus, I was forced to do some research and I appeared to be the expert to their eyes. At that time, there were a few known named diseases. Today there are more than 300 named diseases, disorders, conditions or syndromes-called Eponymous Diseases.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_eponymous_diseases

Some of the common well known diseases are: Alzheimer, Asperger, Crohn's, Guachers, Graves, Hodgkin's, Lou Gehrig, Meniere's, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, Parkinson's, Tay-Sach and Tourette Syndrome. There are hundreds more that you have probably heard. Curious? Read the list and reference in this article. Be informed!!

Besides Parkinson and Meniere Diseases, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy(MSP) is disorder that I am familiar with. It is a theme of a few movies and a TV series that I have watched before. There are 15 movies about MSP. A few are based from a true story. https://www.bustle.com/p/15-movies-about-munchausen-syndrome-by-proxy-for-anyone-fascinated-by-the-act-17025907

Munchausen's syndrome is a psychological disorder where someone pretends to be ill or deliberately produces symptoms of illness in themselves. Their main intention is to assume the "sick role" so that people care for them and they are the centre of attention.  By proxy is done by another person usually a care giver to a child or older persons.

Here's a summary from Wikipedia: An eponymous disease is a disease, disorder, condition, or syndrome named after a person: usually the physician or other health care professional who first identified the disease; less commonly, a patient who suffered from the disease; rarely, a fictional character who exhibited signs of the disease; and, in some few instances, after an actor or the subject of a literary allusion, because characteristics associated with them were suggestive of symptoms observed in a particular disorder.

Eponyms are a longstanding tradition in Western science and medicine. Being awarded an eponym is regarded as an honor: "Eponymity, not anonymity, is the standard." The scientific and medical communities regard it as bad form to attempt to eponymise oneself.

Some diseases are named for the person, most often a physician, but occasionally another health care professional, who first described the condition — typically by publishing an article in a respected medical journal. Less frequently, an eponymous disease is named after a patient, examples being Lou Gehrig's disease, Hartnup disease, and Mortimer's disease. In one instance, Machado–Joseph disease, the eponym is derived from the surnames of two families in which the condition was initially described. Examples also exist of eponyms named for fictional persons who displayed characteristics attributed to the syndrome; these include Miss Havisham syndrome, named for a Dickens character, and Plyushkin syndrome, named for a Gogol character (the two also happen to be alternative names for the same symptom complex). At least two eponymous disorders follow none of the foregoing conventions: Fregoli delusion draws its name from an actor whose character shifts mimicked the type of delusion it now describes; Munchausen syndrome derives from a literary allusion to Baron von Munchausen, whose personal habits were suggestive of the symptom cluster associated with it.

Meanwhile, here is a list of EMERGING AND RE-EMERGING INFECTIOUS Diseases in the World as of 2017.

Covid-19 is not in this list. The above list was published in 2017.

*Havana Syndrome is a set of unexplained medical symptoms first experienced by U.S. State Department personnel stationed in Cuba beginning in late 2016. At the time, those diplomats had been dispatched to Cuba as part of the rapprochement between the two countries begun under President Barack Obama, after decades of severed diplomatic relations between them. The emergence of the ailments on Cuban soil strained those developing ties.

Since the initial cases, diplomats and intelligence officers stationed around the world have experienced similar symptoms. Those affected report a range of conditions including dizziness, headache, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, cognitive difficulties and memory loss of varying severity. In some cases, diplomats and intelligence officers have left active service due to complications from the condition. For details read:

 https://www.wsj.com/articles/havana-syndrome-symptoms-11626882951

I hope you find the list informative. Feel free to do some Internet Search on the details of the disease, disorder, syndromes and maladies that you are interested. Happy reading and educating yourself.  Here's a short video about Pathology-study of Diseases for your additional information.