Life and health

Disarticulation (surgery)

Disarticulation is a surgical amputation technique that separates a limb at a joint instead of cutting bone, performed at the shoulder, hip, knee, ankle, and midfoot.

Disc arthroplasty is a spine operation that replaces a degenerated intervertebral disc with an artificial implant that preserves motion, an alternative to fusion for cervical or lumbar degenerative disc disease.

DISC1

DISC1 (Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1), a scaffold protein gene at 1q42.2 identified via a Scottish t(1;11) translocation family; a contested schizophrenia candidate gene with strong biology but negative genomic evidence.

DISC1 domain, vertebrates

DISC1 domain, vertebrates: domain organization of the DISC1 scaffold protein (Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1), an 854-aa protein with a disordered N-terminal head, conserved C-terminal coiled-coil tail, and UVR-like repeats, disrupted by the Scottish t(1;11) translocation.

Discectomy

Discectomy: surgical removal of herniated disc material pressing on spinal nerves, first performed planned in 1932; evolved into microdiscectomy (Yasargil, 1977) and endoscopic techniques; relieves sciatica faster than non-surgical care short-term.

Discitis

Infection of intervertebral disc (discitis, spondylodiscitis, ICD-11 FA91), usually Staphylococcus aureus; hematogenous or postprocedural; diagnosed by MRI; treated with prolonged antibiotics and sometimes surgery.

Discoglossus

Discoglossus, painted frogs, a genus of five alytid frog species native to southern Europe and northwestern Africa; type species D. pictus, sister genus Alytes, Upper Miocene origin.

Discoid lupus erythematosus

Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE, chronic cutaneous lupus) is a scarring autoimmune skin disease of the face and scalp; 22 to 30 percent of patients progress to systemic lupus erythematosus, with ANA titers of 1:320 or higher a key risk factor.

Discoid meniscus

Discoid meniscus: congenital abnormally thick, disc-shaped knee meniscus, mostly lateral, in 3-5% of Western and 10-15% of Asian populations; Watanabe types I-III; treated by saucerization.

Discosorida

Discosorida: extinct order of Paleozoic nautiloid cephalopods (Ordovician–Devonian), related to Oncocerida, with bullettes, fibralia siphuncle deposits, and genera such as Westonoceras and Paldoceras.

Discover-1 trial

DISCOVER-1 (NCT03162796) is a phase 3 Lancet-published trial of guselkumab (Tremfya) in active psoriatic arthritis; 381 patients, about 30% TNFi-experienced; ACR20 at week 24 was 59% (Q4W) and 52% (Q8W) versus 22% placebo. Distinct from the DISCOVER HIV and stent trials.

Discovery and commercialization of archaeal enzymes

The discovery and commercialization of archaeal enzymes covers how polymerases from vent archaea like Thermococcus litoralis and Pyrococcus furiosus became patented, higher-fidelity alternatives to Taq in PCR.

DisCoVeRy trial

DisCoVeRy (NCT04315948) was a French multicentre adaptive randomised trial of remdesivir, lopinavir/ritonavir, interferon beta-1a, and hydroxychloroquine in hospitalised COVID-19 adults, an add-on to WHO Solidarity; its hydroxychloroquine and lopinavir arms were stopped in 2020.

Discrete papular lichen myxedematosus

Discrete papular lichen myxedematosus is a rare, chronic skin condition with small, symmetrical, flesh-colored mucinous papules on the limbs and trunk, without paraproteinemia or thyroid disease.

Discus (fish)

Discus (Symphysodon) are disc-shaped Amazonian cichlid aquarium fish, the "King of Aquarium Fishes," known for biparental mucus feeding of fry, about 100 color strains, $60–80 retail prices, and IUCN Least Concern status despite heavy ornamental trade.

Disease

A disease is a condition in which bodily structures or functions deviate from the norm, typically with characteristic signs and symptoms, classified internationally by the WHO's ICD since 1893.

Disease activity measures and treat-to-target in rheumatoid arthritis

Disease activity measures in rheumatoid arthritis, including DAS28, CDAI, SDAI, and Boolean criteria, guide treat-to-target: adjusting therapy until remission or low disease activity is reached.

Disease activity score

The disease activity score (DAS) is a composite clinical index for rheumatoid arthritis that combines joint counts, patient global assessment, and ESR or CRP to guide treatment.

Disease Management

Disease management, also called disease state management or chronic disease management, is coordinated healthcare for chronic conditions using guidelines, self-management support, and multidisciplinary teams; originated in 1990s US managed care, now evolved into population health management.

Disease management in bivalve aquaculture

Disease management in bivalve aquaculture is the set of surveillance, regulatory, biosecurity, and breeding practices used to prevent, detect, and limit infectious disease in farmed oysters, mussels, and clams.

Disease Outbreaks

A disease outbreak is when cases exceed the expected baseline in an area, group, or period; larger spread is an epidemic, and a worldwide one is a pandemic.

Disease registry

Disease registry: an organized system collecting uniform records on cases of a disease or condition in a defined population, used for surveillance, research, and quality improvement; examples include SEER cancer registration, Danish national registries, and AHA Get With The Guidelines registries.

Disease resistance, N-terminal

Rx_N (PF18052, IPR041118), the N-terminal domain of plant CC-type NLR disease resistance proteins; about 83 amino acids, four-helical bundle fold, named after potato Rx PVX resistance protein, interacts with NB-ARC and RanGAP2 WPP domain.

Disease risk score

A disease risk score (DRS) is an epidemiology confounder summary method that condenses many patient covariates into a single predicted probability of disease, serving as the prognostic analog of the propensity score.

Disease X

Disease X is a placeholder name the World Health Organization uses for a hypothetical unknown pathogen that could cause a serious international epidemic or pandemic.

Disease-Free Survival

Disease-free survival (DFS), also called relapse-free survival (RFS), is an oncology clinical trial endpoint measuring time after primary treatment without signs or symptoms of cancer; the FDA accepts it as a surrogate for overall survival in adjuvant settings such as resected colon cancer, melanoma, renal cell cancer, GIST, breast cancer, and stage III NSCLC.

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drug

Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including methotrexate, leflunomide, sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine, biologics, and JAK inhibitors, slow rheumatoid arthritis progression; methotrexate is the anchor csDMARD.

Diseases and epidemics of the 19th century

Diseases and epidemics of the 19th century: cholera pandemics from 1817, yellow fever, smallpox, tuberculosis, and malaria; John Snow's 1854 Broad Street investigation, germ theory, and the first international sanitary agreements.

Diseases and parasites in salmon

Diseases and parasites in salmon: sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis), infectious salmon anemia virus, PRV, and bacterial pathogens such as Piscirickettsia salmonis, affecting farmed and wild salmonids, with drug resistance, treatment timing, and regulation as distinguishing issues.