Health A to Z

Korsakoff syndrome

Also called Alcohol-related brain damage, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome

Permanent memory damage from thiamine deficiency, usually caused by alcohol. Largely preventable, and constantly missed.

Kyphosis

Also called Hunchback, Dowager's hump, Round back

An exaggerated forward curve of the upper spine. In an older person it usually means spinal fractures nobody knew about.

Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome

Also called LEMS

Weakness that improves briefly with use, the opposite of myasthenia gravis. In half of cases it is the first sign of a lung cancer.

Laryngitis

Also called Hoarse voice, Voice loss, Dysphonia

A hoarse voice, usually viral and better in a week. Three weeks is the number that changes it from a nuisance into a referral.

Learning disability

Also called Intellectual disability, Learning difficulties

A lifelong difference in learning and understanding. And a group whose people die, on average, decades early for reasons that are mostly avoidable.

Leg cramps

Also called Night cramps, Nocturnal leg cramps, Charley horse

Sudden painful calf spasms, usually at night, in most older people at some point. Usually harmless, and quinine is riskier than most people realise.

Leg ulcers

Also called Venous leg ulcer, Chronic wound

Most are caused by veins, not by the injury that seems to have started them, and most heal with compression. Getting compression on is the whole treatment.

Leukaemia

Cancer of the blood-forming cells. The acute kinds move in days and the chronic kinds in years, and they are almost different illnesses.

Leukoplakia

Also called White patch in the mouth, Erythroplakia

A white patch in the mouth that cannot be rubbed off or explained. A small proportion become cancer, and red patches are more dangerous than white.

Lewy body dementia

Also called Dementia with Lewy bodies, DLB

Dementia with hallucinations, fluctuation and Parkinson's-like movement. The one where the wrong drug can kill.