Druvith/medqa huggingface dataset:
what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Mucolipidoses ? 

The mission of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is to seek fundamental knowledge of the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. Investigators are conducting studies to determine the effects of ML genetic mutations in various animal models of the disease. Studying the disease mechanisms in these models may allow scientists to develop treatments for people with an ML disorder.Clinical trials include a natural history of individuals with ML IV, to better understand the disease and identify potential outcomes, and longitudinal studies to better understand disease progression, assess current therapies, and identify potential treatments.
What is (are) Hereditary Neuropathies ? 

Hereditary neuropathies are a group of inherited disorders affecting the peripheral nervous system. The hereditary neuropathies are divided into four major subcategories: hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy, hereditary sensory neuropathy, hereditary motor neuropathy, and hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy. The most common type is Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, one of the hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies. Symptoms of the hereditary neuropathies vary according to the type and may include sensory symptoms such as numbness, tingling, and pain in the feet and hands; or motor symptoms such as weakness and loss of muscle bulk, particularly in the lower leg and feet muscles. Certain types of hereditary neuropathies can affect the autonomic nerves, resulting in impaired sweating, postural hypotension, or insensitivity to pain. Some people may have foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes, thin calf muscles (having the appearance of an inverted champagne glass) or scoliosis (curvature of the spine). The symptoms of hereditary neuropathies may be apparent at birth or appear in middle or late life. They can vary among different family members, with some family members being more severely affected than others. The hereditary neuropathies can be diagnosed by blood tests for genetic testing, nerve conduction studies, and nerve biopsies.
What are the treatments for Hereditary Neuropathies ? 

There are no standard treatments for hereditary neuropathies. Treatment is mainly symptomatic and supportive. Medical treatment includes physical therapy and if needed, pain medication. Orthopedic surgery may be needed to correct severe foot or other skeletal deformities. Bracing may also be used to improve mobility.
What is the outlook for Hereditary Neuropathies ? 

The prognosis for individuals with hereditary neuropathies depends upon the type of neuropathy. Some hereditary neuropathies have very mild symptoms and may go undiagnosed for many years. Other types are more severe and are associated with more disabilities. Genetic counseling is important to understand further details about the disease and prognosis.
what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Hereditary Neuropathies ? 

The NINDS supports research on neuromuscular disorders, such as hereditary neuropathies, aimed at learning more about these disorders and finding ways to prevent and treat them.
What is (are) Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia ? 

Glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GN) is a rare pain syndrome that affects the glossopharyngeal nerve (the ninth cranial nerve that lies deep within the neck) and causes sharp, stabbing pulses of pain in the back of the throat and tongue, the tonsils, and the middle ear. The excruciating pain of GN can last for a few seconds to a few minutes, and may return multiple times in a day or once every few weeks. Many individuals with GN relate the attacks of pain to specific trigger factors such as swallowing, drinking cold liquids, sneezing, coughing, talking, clearing the throat, and touching the gums or inside the mouth. GN can be caused by compression of the glossopharyngeal nerve, but in some cases, no cause is evident. Like trigeminal neuralgia, it is associated with multiple sclerosis. GN primarily affects the elderly.
What are the treatments for Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia ? 

Most doctors will attempt to treat the pain first with drugs. Some individuals respond well to anticonvulsant drugs, such as carbamazepine and gabapentin. Surgical options, including nerve resection, tractotomy, or microvascular decompression, should be considered when individuals either dont respond to, or stop responding to, drug therapy. Surgery is usually successful at ending the cycles of pain, although there may be some sensory loss in the mouth, throat, or tongue.
What is the outlook for Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia ? 

Some individuals recover from an initial attack and never have another. Others will experience clusters of attacks followed by periods of short or long remission. Individuals may lose weight if they fear that chewing, drinking, or eating will cause an attack.
what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Glossopharyngeal Neuralgia ? 

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and other institutes at the National Institutes of Health conduct research related to GN and support additional research through grants to major research institutions across the country. Much of this research focuses on finding better ways to prevent, treat, and ultimately cure disorders such as GN.
What is (are) Gaucher Disease ? 

Gaucher disease is one of the inherited metabolic disorders known as lipid storage diseases. Lipids are fatty materials that include oils, fatty acids, waxes, and steroids (such as cholesterol and estrogen). Gaucher disease is caused by a deficiency of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase. Fatty materials can accumulate in the brain, spleen, liver, lungs, bone marrow, and kidneys. Symptoms may begin in early life or adulthood and include skeletal disorders and bone lesions that may cause pain and fractures, enlarged spleen and liver, liver malfunction, anemia, and yellow spots in the eyes. There are three common clinical subtypes of Gaucher disease. The first category, called type 1 (or nonneuropathic), typically does not affect the brain. Symptoms may begin early in life or in adulthood. People in this group usually bruise easily due to low blood platelets and experience fatigue due to anemia They also may have an enlarged liver and spleen. Many individuals with a mild form of the disorder may not show any symptoms. In type 2 Gaucher disease (acute infantile neuropathic Gaucher disease), symptoms usually begin by 3 months of age and include extensive brain damage, seizures, spasticity, poor ability to suck and swallow, and enlarged liver and spleen. Affecetd children usually die before 2 years of age. In the third category, called type 3 (or chronic neuropathic Gaucher disease), signs of brain involvement such as seizures gradually become apparent. Major symptoms also include skeletal irregularities, eye movement disorders, cognitive deficit, poor coordination, enlarged liver and spleen, respiratory problems, and blood disorders.
What are the treatments for Gaucher Disease ? 

Enzyme replacement therapy is available for most people with types 1 and 3 Gaucher disease. Given intravenously every two weeks, this therapy decreases liver and spleen size, reduces skeletal abnormalities, and reverses other symptoms of the disorder. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved eligustat tartrate for Gaucher treatment, which works by administering small molecules that reduce the action of the enzyme that catalyzes glucose to ceramide. Surgery to remove the whole or part of the spleen may be required on rare occasions, and blood transfusions may benefit some anemic individuals. Other individuals may require joint replacement surgery to improve mobility and quality of life. There is no effective treatment for severe brain damage that may occur in persons with types 2 and 3 Gaucher disease.
What is the outlook for Gaucher Disease ? 

Enzyme replacement therapy is very beneficial for type 1 and most type 3 individuals with this condition. Successful bone marrow transplantation can reverse the non-neurological effects of the disease, but the procedure carries a high risk and is rarely performed in individuals with Gaucher disease.
what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Gaucher Disease ? 

The mission of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a part of the National Institutes of Health), is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. The NINDS supports research to find ways to treat and prevent lipid storage disorders such as Gaucher disease. For example, researchers hope to identify biomarkers (signs that may indicate risk of a disease and improve diagnosis) for Gaucher disease and other lipid storage diseases; and identify genetic, biochemical, and clinical factors that are associated with disease severity in individuals with Gaucher disease.Additional research is looking at the increased buildup of the protein alpha-synuclein, which is seen in Gaucher disease, Parkinson's disease, and Lewy Body Dementia. Using different models of glucoserebrosidase deficiency, scientists hope to learn how this deficiency impairs the breakdown of lysosomal proteins, including the breakdown of alpha-synuclein.
What is (are) Shingles ? 

Shingles (herpes zoster) is an outbreak of rash or blisters on the skin that is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox  the varicella-zoster virus. The first sign of shingles is often burning or tingling pain (which can be severe), or sometimes numbness or itch,generally on one side of the body. After several days or a week, a rash of fluid-filled blisters, similar to chickenpox, appears in one area on one side of the body. Shingles pain can be mild or intense. Some people have mostly itching; some feel pain from the gentlest touch or breeze. The most common location for shingles is a band, called a dermatome, spanning one side of the trunk around the waistline. Anyone who has had chickenpox is at risk for shingles. Scientists think that some of the virus particles from the original exposure to the varicella-zoster virus,leave the skin blisters and move into the nervous system. When the varicella-zoster virus reactivates, the virus moves back down the long nerve fibers that extend from the sensory cell bodies to the skin. The viruses multiply, the tell-tale rash erupts, and the person now has shingles.
What are the treatments for Shingles ? 

The severity and duration of an attack of shingles can be significantly reduced by immediate treatment with antiviral drugs, which include acyclovir, valcyclovir, or famcyclovir. Antiviral drugs may also help stave off the painful after-effects of shingles known as postherpetic neuralgia. Other treatments for postherpetic neuralgia include steroids, antidepressants, anticonvulsants (including pregabalin and gabapentin enacarbil), and topical agents. The varicella zoster virus vaccine (Zostavax) has been approved by teh food and Drug Administration for adults age 50 and older. Researchers found that giving older adults the vaccine reduced the expected number of later cases of shingles by half. And in people who still got the disease despite immunization, the severity and complications of shingles were dramatically reduced. The shingles vaccine is a preventive therapy and not a treatment for those who already have shingles or long-lasting nerve pain (postherpetic neuralgia).
What is the outlook for Shingles ? 

For most healthy people who receive treatment soon after the outbreak of blisters, the lesions heal, the pain subsides within 3 to 5 weeks, and the blisters often leave no scars. However, shingles is a serious threat in immunosuppressed individuals  for example, those with HIV infection or who are receiving cancer treatments that can weaken their immune systems. People who receive organ transplants are also vulnerable to shingles because they are given drugs that suppress the immune system. 
                
A person with a shingles rash can pass the virus to someone, usually a child, who has never had chickenpox, but the child will develop chickenpox, not shingles. A person with chickenpox cannot give shingles to someone else. Shingles comes from the virus hiding inside the person's body, not from an outside source.
what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Shingles ? 

The mission of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is to seek fundamental knowledge of the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. The NINDS supports research on viral proteins and virus defense mechanisms in neurons to understand why the varicella-zoster virus establishes latency uniquely in neurons and not in other cell types. Other studies focus on how VZV travels along sensory nerve fibers, or axons, and its role in latency and viral reactivation. Scientists also hope to identify molecular mechanisms that regulate the expression of latent viral genes, which may lead to targeted therapy to prevent reactivation. Other studies hope to better understand cellular changes that lead to persistent pain.
What is (are) Leigh's Disease ? 

Leigh's disease is a rare inherited neurometabolic disorder that affects the central nervous system. This progressive disorder begins in infants between the ages of three months and two years.Rarely, it occurs in teenagers and adults.Leigh's disease can be caused by mutations in mitochondrial DNA or by deficiencies of an enzyme called pyruvate dehydrogenase. Symptoms of Leigh's disease usually progress rapidly. The earliest signs may be poor sucking ability,and the loss of head control and motor skills.These symptoms may be accompanied by loss of appetite, vomiting, irritability, continuous crying, and seizures. As the disorder progresses, symptoms may also include generalized weakness, lack of muscle tone, and episodes of lactic acidosis, which can lead to impairment of respiratory and kidney function.
                
In Leighs disease, genetic mutations in mitochondrial DNA interfere with the energy sources that run cells in an area of the brain that plays a role in motor movements.The primary function of mitochondria is to convert the energy in glucose and fatty acids into a substance called adenosine triphosphate ( ATP). The energy in ATP drives virtually all of a cell's metabolic functions. Genetic mutations in mitochondrial DNA, therefore, result in a chronic lack of energy in these cells, which in turn affects the central nervous system and causes progressive degeneration of motor functions.
                
There is also a form of Leighs disease (called X-linked Leigh's disease) which is the result of mutations in a gene that produces another group of substances that are important for cell metabolism. This gene is only found on the X chromosome.
What are the treatments for Leigh's Disease ? 

The most common treatment for Leigh's disease is thiamine or Vitamin B1. Oral sodium bicarbonate or sodium citrate may also be prescribed to manage lactic acidosis. Researchers are currently testing dichloroacetate to establish its effectiveness in treating lactic acidosis. In individuals who have the X-linked form of Leighs disease, a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet may be recommended.
What is the outlook for Leigh's Disease ? 

The prognosis for individuals with Leigh's disease is poor. Individuals who lack mitochondrial complex IV activity and those with pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency tend to have the worst prognosis and die within a few years. Those with partial deficiencies have a better prognosis, and may live to be 6 or 7 years of age. Some have survived to their mid-teenage years.
what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Leigh's Disease ? 

The NINDS supports and encourages a broad range of basic and clinical research on neurogenetic disorders such as Leigh's disease. The goal of this research is to understand what causes these disorders and then to apply these findings to new ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent them.
What is (are) Kuru ? 

Kuru is a rare and fatal brain disorder that occurred at epidemic levels during the 1950s-60s among the Fore people in the highlands of New Guinea. The disease was the result of the practice of ritualistic cannibalism among the Fore, in which relatives prepared and consumed the tissues (including brain) of deceased family members. Brain tissue from individuals with kuru was highly infectious, and the disease was transmitted either through eating or by contact with open sores or wounds. Government discouragement of the practice of cannibalism led to a continuing decline in the disease, which has now mostly disappeared.
                
Kuru belongs to a class of infectious diseases called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), also known as prion diseases. The hallmark of a TSE disease is misshapen protein molecules that clump together and accumulate in brain tissue. Scientists believe that misshapen prion proteins have the ability to change their shape and cause other proteins of the same type to also change shape. Other TSEs include Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and fatal familial insomnia in humans, bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle (also known as mad cow disease), scrapie in sheep and goats, and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk.
What are the treatments for Kuru ? 

There were no treatments that could control or cure kuru, other than discouraging the practice of cannibalism. Currently, there are no cures or treatments for any of the other TSE diseases.
What is the outlook for Kuru ? 

Similar to other the TSEs, kuru had a long incubation period; it was years or even decades before an infected person showed symptoms. Because kuru mainly affected the cerebellum, which is responsible for coordination, the usual first symptoms were an unsteady gait, tremors, and slurred speech. (Kuru is the Fore word for shiver.) Unlike most of the other TSEs, dementia was either minimal or absent. Mood changes were often present. Eventually, individuals became unable to stand or eat, and they died in a comatose state from 6 to 12 months after the first appearance of symptoms.
what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Kuru ? 

The NINDS funds research to better understand the genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms that underlie the TSE diseases. Findings from this research will lead to ways to diagnose, treat, prevent, and ultimately cure these diseases.
What is (are) Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation ? 

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is a rare, inherited, neurological movement disorder characterized by an abnormal accumulation of iron in the brain and progressive degeneration of the nervous system. Symptoms, which vary greatly among patients and usually develop during childhood, may include dystonia (slow writhing, distorting muscle contractions of the limbs, face, or trunk), dysarthria (slurred or slow speech) choreoathetosis (involuntary, purposeless jerky muscle movements), muscle rigidity (uncontrolled tightness of the muscles), spasticity (sudden, involuntary muscle spasms), and/or ataxia (inability to coordinate movements), confusion, disorientation, seizures, stupor, and dementia. Visual changes are also common, most often due to atrophy of the optic nerve (optic atrophy) or degeneration of the retinal layer in the back of the eye (retinal degeneration Cognitive decline occurs in some forms of NBIA; the majority of individuals with NBIA do not have cognitive impairment. Several genes have been found that cause NBIA.
What are the treatments for Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation ? 

There is no cure for NBIA, nor is there a standard course of treatment. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive, and may include physical or occupational therapy, exercise physiology, and/or speech pathology. Many medications are available to treat the primary symptoms of dystonia and spasticity, including oral medications, intrathecal baclofen pump (in which a small pump is implanted under the skin and is programmed to deliver a specific amount of medication on a regular basis), deep brain stimulation, and botulinum toxin injection.
What is the outlook for Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation ? 

NBIA is a progressive condition. Most individuals experience periods of rapid decline lasting weeks to months, with relatively stable periods in between. The rate of progression correlates with the age at onset, meaning that children with early symptoms tend to fare more poorly. For those with early onset, dystonia and spasticity can eventually limit the ability to walk, usually leading to use of a wheelchair by the midteens. Life expectancy is variable, although premature death does occur in NBIA. Premature death usually occurs due to secondary complications such as impaired swallowing or confinement to a bed or wheelchair, which can lead to poor nutrition or aspiration pneumonia. With improved medical care, however, a greater number of affected individuals reach adulthood. For those with atypical, late-onset NBIA, many are diagnosed as adults and live well into adulthood.
what research (or clinical trials) is being done for Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation ? 

The mission of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system, and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. NINDS-funded researchers are developing a mouse model of an NBIA disorder to gain insight into the causes of the disease and accelerate ongoing efforts to identify therapeutics to treat it..
What is (are) Pompe Disease ? 

Pompe disease is a rare (estimated at 1 in every 40,000 births), inherited and often fatal disorder that disables the heart and skeletal muscles. It is caused by mutations in a gene that makes an enzyme called acid alpha-glucosidase (GAA). Normally, the body uses GAA to break down glycogen, a stored form of sugar used for energy. The enzyme performs its function in intracellular compartments called lysosomes. Lysosomes are known to function as cellular clearinghouses; they ingest multiple substances including glycogen, which is converted by the GAA into glucose, a sugar that fuels muscles. In Pompe disease, mutations in the GAA gene reduce or completely eliminate this essential enzyme. Excessive amounts of lysosomal glycogen accumulate everywhere in the body, but the cells of the heart and skeletal muscles are the most seriously affected. Researchers have identified up to 300 different mutations in the GAA gene that cause the symptoms of Pompe disease, which can vary widely in terms of age of onset and severity. The severity of the disease and the age of onset are related to the degree of enzyme deficiency.
                
Early onset (or the infantile form) is the result of complete or near complete deficiency of GAA. Symptoms begin in the first months of life, with feeding problems, poor weight gain, muscle weakness, floppiness, and head lag. Respiratory difficulties are often complicated by lung infections. The heart is grossly enlarged. Many infants with Pompe disease also have enlarged tongues. Most babies die from cardiac or respiratory complications before their first birthday.
                
Late onset (or juvenile/adult) Pompe disease is the result of a partial deficiency of GAA. The onset can be as early as the first decade of childhood or as late as the sixth decade of adulthood. The primary symptom is muscle weakness progressing to respiratory weakness and death from respiratory failure after a course lasting several years. The heart is usually not involved. A diagnosis of Pompe disease can be confirmed by screening for the common genetic mutations or measuring the level of GAA enzyme activity in a blood sample. Once Pompe disease is diagnosed, testing of all family members and a consultation with a professional geneticist are recommended. Carriers are most reliably identified via genetic mutation analysis.