
Dercum’s disease
Overview of Dercum's disease: rare painful adipose‑tissue disorder, epidemiology, treatment strategies, and eponym history.

Overview of Dercum's disease: rare painful adipose‑tissue disorder, epidemiology, treatment strategies, and eponym history.

Alfred Lewis Galabin (1843-1913) English obstetric physician. Using an apexcardiogram he was documented atrioventricular (AV) block in humans.

Non-traumatic abdominal ecchymosis of the abdominal wall and flanks (Grey Turner, Cullen and Stabler); scrotum (Bryant) and upper thigh (Fox) as clues to potentially serious causes of abdominal pathology.

William Allen Sturge (1850–1919) English neurologist and archaeologist; first described Sturge-Weber syndrome; awarded MVO; pioneer of women’s medical education; noted collector of prehistoric artefacts.

Corneal foreign bodies present with pain, watering, and irritation. Remove under anaesthesia, exclude penetrating injury, and arrange follow-up.

Bacterial conjunctivitis is common and treatable, but screen for serious infections like gonococcus, meningococcus, and trachoma in high-risk patients.

Acute non-traumatic loss of vision is an ophthalmic emergency. All patients require urgent assessment, and persistent deficits mandate immediate ophthalmology referral.

Acute loss of vision is an ophthalmic emergency. Assess urgently. Persistent or unexplained cases require immediate specialist ophthalmology input.

Chemical eye injuries are emergencies. Immediate irrigation, category 2 triage, and ophthalmology input are critical to preserve vision and minimise damage.

Alfred Fröhlich (1871-1953) Austrian neurologist and pharmacologist; pioneer of neuroendocrinology who described adiposogenital dystrophy, linking pituitary lesions to obesity and hypogonadism.

Caleb Hillier Parry 1755–1822 English physician described Hemifacial atrophy; angina pectoris; Hirschprung disease; Graves disease in 1825

Wernicke encephalopathy is an acute, reversible condition due to thiamine deficiency. Prompt treatment prevents progression to Korsakoff’s psychosis