Urethritis is the inflammation of the urethra. The most common symptoms include painful or difficult urination and urethral discharge. It is a commonly treatable condition usually caused by infection with bacteria. This bacterial infection is often sexually transmitted, but not in every instance; it can be idiopathic, for example. Some incidence of urethritis can appear asymptomatic as well. Symptoms and signs
Symptoms vary based on the cause of the diseases. For infectious causes of urethritis, symptoms may start a few weeks to several months after infection. Non-infectious causes of urethritis commonly show symptoms after a few days. Common symptoms include painful urination, continuous urge to urinate, itching and, urethral discharge. Additional symptoms vary based on assigned sex at birth. AMAB (assigned male at birth) individuals may experience blood in the urine or semen, itching, tenderness, or swelling of the penis, enlarged lymph nodes in the groin area, and/or pain with intercourse or ejaculation. AFAB (assigned female at birth) may experience abdominal pain, pelvic pain, pain with intercourse, or vaginal discharge. Non-gonococcal urethritis typically does not have noticeable symptoms in AFAB individuals, however, the infection can spread to parts of the reproductive system. Complications
Serious, yet rare complications associated with Neisseria gonorrhea, may include penile edema, abscessed tissue surrounding the urethra, urethral strictures such as scarring, and penile lymphangitis. If left untreated, the bacteria that cause non-gonococcal urethritis can lead to various complications. In individuals assigned male at birth, complications can lead to epididymitis, reactive arthritis, conjunctivitis, skin lesions, and discharge.
Death, which is often from pneumonia, usually occurs 1 to 3 years after the start of the disorder.About twenty-five percent of patients with PBP eventually develop the widespread symptoms common to ALS. Cause
The cause of PBP is unknown. One form of PBP is found to occur within patients that have a CuZn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) mutation. Progressive bulbar palsy patients that have this mutation are classified with FALS patients, Familial ALS (FALS) accounts for about 5%-10% of all ALS cases and is caused by genetic factors. Within these, about 20–25% are linked to the SOD1 mutation. It is not currently known if and how the decreased SOD1 activity contributes to Progressive Bulbar Palsy or FALS, and studies are being done in patients and transgenic mice to help further understand the impact of this gene on the disease.A case study was done on a 42-year-old woman who complained of muscle weakness 10 months prior to admission in the hospital. Upon neurological examination, the patient showed muscle atrophy, fasciculation in all limbs and decreased deep tendon reflexes. The patient’s older brother, father, and paternal uncle had previously all died of ALS or an ALS type syndrome. The patient developed progressive bulbar palsy, became dependent on a respirator, and had two episodes of cardiac arrest. The patient died from pneumonia two years after the onset of the disease. After studying the patient, it was found that the patient had a two base pair deletion in the 126th codon in exon 5 of the SOD1 gene.