Season 5
Episode 1 - Dying Changes Everything
Brief Plot Summary
Lou is admitted when she suddenly begins hallucinating that ants are crawling all over her body. House believes it's B12 deficiency, but she begins to bleed from her rectum. When they can't find a bleed, Kutner believes it could be a pregnancy, but an ultrasound reveals nothing. House redoes the ultrasound and finds the fetus attached to her intestines, an ectopic pregnancy. Although they remove the fetus surgically, she continues to have bradycardia and blinks rapidly. As she develops a slight fever, it rules out multiple sclerosis. In the video of the surgery, Kutner see a possible ganglioma, which could be causing the symptoms. The team believes it could be lymphoma and begin chemotherapy. House walks in and diagnoses her with diffuse lepromatous leprosy, which is what caused her to look much younger than her age.
Lou is admitted when she suddenly begins hallucinating that ants are crawling all over her body. House believes it's B12 deficiency, but she begins to bleed from her rectum. When they can't find a bleed, Kutner believes it could be a pregnancy, but an ultrasound reveals nothing. House redoes the ultrasound and finds the fetus attached to her intestines, an ectopic pregnancy. Although they remove the fetus surgically, she continues to have bradycardia and blinks rapidly. As she develops a slight fever, it rules out multiple sclerosis. In the video of the surgery, Kutner see a possible ganglioma, which could be causing the symptoms. The team believes it could be lymphoma and begin chemotherapy. House walks in and diagnoses her with diffuse lepromatous leprosy, which is what caused her to look much younger than her age.
Diagnosed Disease: Diffuse Lepromatous Leprosy - Also known as "pretty leprosy" it causes the patient to have younger-looking skin. It is caused by infection of an acid-fast bacterial species called M. Lepromatosis. (discovered recently in 2008)
SymptomsDiffuse patches of infection of the skin, usually the lower limbs.
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CausesInfection from the bacteria, it is believed genetic may play a role as well since not all infected people appear to display symptoms
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TestsSkin smears are usually used to confirm a diagnosis.
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Treatment/CureAntibiotics are used to treat the infection of the acid-fast bacterium.
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Source Links: Wiki
Episode 2 - Not Cancer
Brief Plot Summary
The episode begins with many people who spontaneously collapse from what appears to be some medical condition; the similarity is that they all had transplants from the same organ donor. Thirteen admits a teacher, Apple, who got a corneal transplant from the same donor. House believes it's cancer, but the team disagrees. The patient continues to deteriorate and the team starts her on chemotherapy. When she improves, House believes it's not cancer. He tries to find what could act like cancer but isn't. House then realizes the similarity between all the patients was cancer stem cells. He hires Lucas to change her chemo to saline in order to make her crash. They then continue the brain surgery and excise the unfitting cancer stem cells in her brain which are what caused her eyesight to function abnormally.
The episode begins with many people who spontaneously collapse from what appears to be some medical condition; the similarity is that they all had transplants from the same organ donor. Thirteen admits a teacher, Apple, who got a corneal transplant from the same donor. House believes it's cancer, but the team disagrees. The patient continues to deteriorate and the team starts her on chemotherapy. When she improves, House believes it's not cancer. He tries to find what could act like cancer but isn't. House then realizes the similarity between all the patients was cancer stem cells. He hires Lucas to change her chemo to saline in order to make her crash. They then continue the brain surgery and excise the unfitting cancer stem cells in her brain which are what caused her eyesight to function abnormally.
Diagnosed Disease: Cancer Stem Cells - Cancer cells that posses the same properties as regular stem cells.
Source Links: Wiki
Episode 3 - Adverse Events
Brief Plot Summary
Brandon is admitted when he paints what he believes to be a realistic portrait, but is in fact very disfigured. However, his brain MRI is clean. They find out that he is a guinea pig for drug trials. However, the patient then seizes. His face is swells. After several similar on/off type outbreaks, House realizes that the drugs are "hiding" in a bezoar, a mass of "gunk" that builds up in the GI tract which absorbed the drug trial pills, and slowly released them in massive doses.
Brandon is admitted when he paints what he believes to be a realistic portrait, but is in fact very disfigured. However, his brain MRI is clean. They find out that he is a guinea pig for drug trials. However, the patient then seizes. His face is swells. After several similar on/off type outbreaks, House realizes that the drugs are "hiding" in a bezoar, a mass of "gunk" that builds up in the GI tract which absorbed the drug trial pills, and slowly released them in massive doses.
Diagnosed Disease: Multiple Drug Trials - Patient partook in multiple drug trials, which when combined has adverse neurological effects, including the distortions of his paintings.
Episode 4 - Birthmarks
Brief Plot Summary
A Chinese adoptee is looking for her parents and collapses, vomiting blood. The initial diagnosis in China was that she had severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). When a clot nearly causes her liver to die, they realize it's not SARS. She continues to bleed and clot profusely. They also find a cyst in her pancreas. Her kidneys then begin to fail. House finally calls the biological parents who refuse to admit they had another child. House theorizes that her parents pushed needles into their daughter's head in an attempt to kill her because of the one-child policy of China. The Buddha statue had a magnet with disturbed these needles causing the first collapse.
A Chinese adoptee is looking for her parents and collapses, vomiting blood. The initial diagnosis in China was that she had severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). When a clot nearly causes her liver to die, they realize it's not SARS. She continues to bleed and clot profusely. They also find a cyst in her pancreas. Her kidneys then begin to fail. House finally calls the biological parents who refuse to admit they had another child. House theorizes that her parents pushed needles into their daughter's head in an attempt to kill her because of the one-child policy of China. The Buddha statue had a magnet with disturbed these needles causing the first collapse.
Diagnosed Disease: Needles in the Brain - Her parents tried to kill her as an infant by pushing needles into her brain.
