Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever.The bacteria causing this disease, Brucella, are small, Gram-negative, nonmotile, nonspore-forming, rod-shaped (coccobacilli) bacteria. They function as facultative intracellular parasites, causing chronic disease, which usually persists for life. Four species infect humans: B. abortus, B. canis, B. melitensis, and B. suis. B. abortus is less virulent than B. melitensis and is primarily a disease of cattle. B. canis affects dogs. B. melitensis is the most virulent and invasive species; it usually infects goats and occasionally sheep. B. suis is of intermediate virulence and chiefly infects pigs. Symptoms include profuse sweating and joint and muscle pain. Brucellosis has been recognized in animals and humans since the early 20th century. Signs and symptoms
The symptoms are like those associated with many other febrile diseases, but with emphasis on muscular pain and night sweats. The duration of the disease can vary from a few weeks to many months or even years. In the first stage of the disease, bacteremia occurs and leads to the classic triad of undulant fevers, sweating (often with characteristic foul, moldy smell sometimes likened to wet hay), and migratory arthralgia and myalgia (joint and muscle pain).
Hyperestrogenism, hyperestrogenic state, or estrogen excess, is a medical condition characterized by an excessive amount of estrogenic activity in the body. Signs and symptoms
Signs of hyperestrogenism may include heightened levels of one or more of the estrogen sex hormones (usually estradiol and/or estrone), lowered levels of follicle-stimulating hormone and/or luteinizing hormone (due to suppression of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis by estrogen), and lowered levels of androgens such as testosterone (generally only relevant to males). Symptoms of the condition in women may consist of menstrual irregularities, amenorrhea, abnormal vaginal bleeding, and enlargement of the uterus and breasts. It may also present as isosexual precocity in children and as hypogonadism, gynecomastia, feminization, impotence, and loss of libido in males. If left untreated, hyperestrogenism may increase the risk of estrogen-sensitive cancers such as breast cancer later in life. Causes
Hyperestrogenism can be caused by ovarian tumors, genetic conditions such as aromatase excess syndrome (also known as familial hyperestrogenism), or overconsumption of exogenous sources of estrogen, including medications used in hormone replacement therapy and hormonal contraception. Liver cirrhosis is another cause, though through lowered metabolism of estrogen, not oversecretion or overconsumption like the aforementioned. Its necessary to know there exist two kinds of hyperestrogenism: Absolute (more concentration than usual of estrogen) and relative (a normal concentration of estrogen, higher with respect to progesterone). An example of absolute hyperestrogenism could be: persistent follicles that later undergo atresia without ovulating; and the example of relative hyperestrogenism: luteal insufficiency.