This is just a list of diseases endemic to the United States for which there is no known cause nor cure. As of 2018, diagnosis of these diseases is still based on signs & reported symptoms, not on any blood tests or other tests. The list:
- non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS)
- acute flaccid myelitis (AFM)
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME)
Some of these may actually be grouping multiple diseases under one label. For example, IBS comes in two varieties – IBS-C and IBS-D, the first constipative and the second diarrheal. Although the mechanisms that lead to these diseases’ development may be similar, it seems possible that they are caused by two different mechanisms, either two different viruses or two different genetic predispositions.
Interestingly, CFS/ME and AFM, and IBS all have patients who state that the disease began after a bad infection.
Also interestingly, the first reaction of many physicians to these diseases is one of disbelief — as if a disease not in a textbook does not exist. The second instinct upon seeing a disease that “does not exist” is to suspect mental illness — the patient just needs a psychologist/therapist. Sometimes this is appropriate — for example, someone with an unmanaged anxiety disorder may display the symptoms of IBS-D — their bowels are forever aquiver. But often this is inappropriate — when someone gets the flu we do not attribute their lack of energy to “deep-seated emotional issues.”
This list is surely not exhaustive, but it does represent the “top diseases” — those that receive the greatest news coverage.
