House Diagnosis Diary: Season 1

One of the more fascinating things about the House series is the amount of medical research that must go into the creation of each episode. The docs on House track down the most rare and difficult illnesses anywhere each week. We love the characters, but the medical “zebra diseases” are engrossing too. Here are the medical diagnoses that House and the team made during season one:

“Everybody Lies” (pilot)
Neurocysticercosis – A parasite infestation of the nervous system.
“Paternity”
Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis – A progressive encephalitis that affects primarily children and young
adults, caused by a persistent infection of immune resistant measles virus.
“Occam’s Razor”
Colchicine poisoning – Colchicine is a highly poisonous natural product, has been used to treat gout.
Colchicine poisoning has been compared to arsenic poisoning.
“Maternity”
Echovirus 11 – Echoviruses are found in the gastrointestinal tract. Exposure to the virus causes other
opportunistic infections and diseases.
“Damned if you Do”
Copper allergy – A severe long-term allergic reaction to a copper IUD left in patient.

“The Socratic Method”
Vitamin K deficiency – Bacteria formed in the intestines. Hepatocellular carcinoma – Primary malignant cancer in the liver. Wilson’s disease or hepatolenticular degeneration is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder in which copper accumulates in tissues; this manifests as neurological or psychiatric symptoms and liver disease.
“Fidelity”
African trypanosomiasis or Sleeping Sickness – A parasitic disease of people and animals.
“Poison”
Phosmet poisoning – An insecticide used in plants and animals.
“DNR”
Arteriovenous malformation – A congenital disorder known for its occurrence in the central nervous system.
“Histories”
Tuberculoma – Infectious disease that attacks the lungs. Rabies.
“Detox”
Naphthalene poisoning – Naphthalene is the primary ingredient of mothballs. It is volatile, forming a flammable vapor and producing a characteristic odor that is detectable at low concentrations.
“Sports Medicine”
Cadmium poisoning – Cadmium compounds are extremely toxic. Acute exposure to cadmium fumes may cause flu-like symptoms including chills, fever and muscle ache.
“Cursed”
Anthrax and leprosy – Anthrax is an acute disease in humans and animals caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which is highly lethal in some forms. Leprosy varies but primarily affects the skin, nerves and mucous membranes.
“Control”
Congestive heart failure onset by bulimia.
“Mob Rules”
Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency – A rare metabolic disorder, occurring in one out of every 80,000 births. OTC is a genetic disorder resulting in a mutated and ineffective form of the enzyme ornithine transcarbamylase.
“Heavy”
Cushing’s disease – An endocrine disorder caused by high levels of cortisol in the blood. It was described by American Dr. Harvey Cushing in 1932. Secondary to pituitary adenoma. Cushing causes weight gain, heavy sweating and thinning skin.
“Role Model”
Delayed-onset Common Variable Immunodeficiency (CVID) – Secondary to phenytoin-mediated Epstein-Barr virus infection. The result of this deficiency is that the patient’s immune deficiency fails to protect them against common bacterial and viral infections.
“Babies & Bathwater”
Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) – A rare autoimmune disorder which affects calcium channels of the nerve-muscle (neuromuscular) junction. LEMS is secondary to small cell lung carcinoma.
“Kids”
Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura secondary to pregnancy (TTP or Moschcowitz disease) – A rare disorder of the blood-coagulation system, causing extensive microscopic blood clots to form in the small blood vessels throughout the body.
“Love Hurts”
Fulminating osteomyelitis – Infection of the bone or bone marrow.
“Three Stories”
Streptococcal infection (farmer) – In addition to strep throat, certain streptococcus species are responsible for many cases of meningitis, bacterial pneumonia, endocarditis, erysipelas and necrotizing fasciitis (the flesh-eating bacterial infections). Osteosarcoma (volleyball player) – Osteosarcoma is the most common type of malignant bone cancer. Thigh muscle infarction (Dr. House) – An infarction is the process resulting in a macroscopic area of necrotic tissue in some organ caused by loss of adequate blood supply. Supplying arteries may be blocked from within by some obstruction (e.g. a blood clot or fatty cholesterol deposit), or may be mechanically compressed or ruptured by trauma.
“Honeymoon”
Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP) – A rare autosomal dominant metabolic disorder affecting the production of heme, the oxygen-binding prosthetic group of hemoglobin. Symptoms of AIP may include abdominal pain, constipation and muscle weakness.