Lyme Disease or Lyme Borreliosis

Glossary over Lyme Disease or Lyme Borreliosis

Antibiotics

A class of natural or man-made substances, such as penicillin, that kill or inhibit the growth of some micro-organisms. (Source: GreenFacts, based on CoRIS, Glossary  )

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Antibody

A protein produced by the body's immune system that recognizes and helps fight infections and other foreign substances in the body. (Source: Gift of a Lifetime Glossary  )

Bacteria

Bacteria are a major group of micro-organisms that live in soil, water, plants, organic matter, or the bodies of animals or people. They are microscopic and mostly unicellular, with a relatively simple cell structure.

Some bacteria cause diseases such as tetanus, typhoid fever, pneumonia, syphilis, cholera, and tuberculosis.

Bacteria play a role in the decomposition of organic matter and other chemical processes. (Source: GreenFacts)

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Belgian Federal Public Service for Health

The Federal Public Service (FPS) Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment was set up in 2001. Its competencies were transferred from :

• the former Ministry of Social Affairs, Health and Environment
• the regionalized Ministry of Agriculture

The following scientific establishments are linked to the FPS and carry out research into policy-supporting matters or issue advisory reports :

• VAR, Veterinary and Agrochemical Research Centre
• IPH, Scientific Institute of Public Health
• SHC, Superior Health Council

The Federal Agency for Food Chain Security is responsible for all verifications with regard to food safety. (Source: http://www.health.belgium.be/en/about-fps  )

Benign

Not cancerous. Not malignant. Benign tumours are not able to spread to tissues around them nor to other parts of the body. (Source: GreenFacts)

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Erythema

Superficial reddening of the skin due to the dilatation of blood vessels. Erythema is often a sign of infection or inflammation and may be caused by sunburn. (Source: GreenFacts)

Foetus

The embryo is referred to as a foetus after it has reached a certain stage of organ development (in humans this is eight weeks after conception). (Source: CSIRO Glossary of terms  )

Hearing loss

Hearing loss is a reduced ability to hear sounds in comparison to normal hearing. Hearing loss ranges from slight to profound.

Hearing loss can be caused by aging (age-induced hearing loss), illness or disease, by excessive exposure to high noise levels (noise-induced hearing loss) or by excessive exposure to loud sounds (sound-induced hearing loss). (Source: GreenFacts)

Human health

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

The health of a whole community or population is reflected in measurements of disease incidence and prevalence, age-specific death rates, and life expectancy. (Source: MA Glossary  )

Incidence

The frequency of a disease may be measured in two (standard) ways:

- Incidence is the number of new cases detected in the population at risk for the disease during a specific period.

- Prevalence (Source: Health canada Diabetes in Canada  )

Infection

It is the growth of a parasite within the human body that causes illness. It can be a virus, a bacteria, a fungus or a protozoa. (Source: GreenFacts )

Inflammation

Inflammation is the reaction of living tissues to infection, irritation or other injury. (Source: GreenFacts)

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Lesion

An area of abnormal tissue. A lesion may be benign (non-cancercous) or malignant (cancerous). (Source: NCI cancer.gov dictionary  )

Liver

The liver is a big reddish-brow organ lying beneath the diaphragm on the right side. The liver is made up for a great part of liver cells which absorb nutrients and detoxify and remove harmful substances from the blood such as drugs and alcohol. The liver has many other vital functions and there is currently no way to compensate for the absence of liver.

Other liver functions include:

• controlling levels of fats, amino acids and glucose in the blood
• fighting infections in the body, particularly infections arising in the bowel.
• manufacturing bile, a kind of digestive juice which aids in the digestion of fats
• storing iron, certain vitamins and other essential chemicals
• breaking down food and turning it into energy
• manufacturing, breaking down and regulating numerous hormones
• making enzymes and proteins which are responsible for most chemical reactions in the body, for example those involved in blood clotting and repair of damaged tissues.

Nervous system

The nervous system is a complex, sophisticated system that regulates and coordinates body activities.

It is made up of:

• the central nervous system, consisting of the brain and spinal cord, and
• the peripheral nervous system which includes, the eyes, the ears, the sensory organs of taste and smell, as well as the sensory receptors located in the skin, joints, muscles, and other parts of the body.

Pregnancy outcomes

Results of conception and ensuing pregnancy, such as sex ratio, birth weight, spontaneous abortion, congenital malformations, lower birth weight, preterm delivery or stillbirth. (Source: GreenFacts)

Species

A group of organisms that differ from all other groups of organisms and that are capable of breeding and producing fertile offspring. This is the smallest unit of classification for plants and animals. (Source: OceanLink Glossary of Common Terms and Definitions in Marine Biology  )

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The International Renewable Energy Agency

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy. IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity. (Source: www.irena.org/  )

Therapy

Measures taken to treat a physical or mental disease.

First-line therapy is the first type of therapy given for a condition or disease.

Second-line therapy is the treatment that is given when initial treatment (first-line therapy) doesn't work, or stops working. (Source: based on St Jude Hospital Medical Terminology & Drug Database )