Reye's syndrome

[ rahyz, reyz ]

noun

, Pathology.

1. an uncommon, severe disorder occurring primarily in children after a viral illness, as influenza or chickenpox, and associated with aspirin usage, involving swelling of the brain and liver and affecting other organs: symptoms include fever, projectile vomiting, confusion, and, sometimes, respiratory arrest.

Reye's syndrome

/ reɪz; raɪz /

noun

1. a rare metabolic disease in children that can be fatal, involving damage to the brain, liver, and kidneys

Reye's syndrome

/ rīz /

1. A rare, acute encephalopathy characterized by fever, vomiting, fatty infiltration of the liver, disorientation, and coma, occurring mainly in children and usually following a viral infection, such as chickenpox or influenza.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Reye's syndrome¹

After Ralph Douglas Kenneth Reye (1912–78), Australian pediatrician, who co-wrote a description of the syndrome in 1963

Word History and Origins

Origin of Reye's syndrome¹

C20: named after R. D. K. Reye (1912–78) Australian paediatrician

Example Sentences

And in North Hollywood, the first city park created with privately raised money was built in memory of Jaime Beth Slavin, a 16-year-old Woodland Hills girl who died in 1983 of Reye’s syndrome.

From Los Angeles Times

The boy, whose mother was Lindsey Cyr, told the newspaper the boy died of Reye's Syndrome, a sometimes fatal condition that causes swelling to the brain and liver.

From Fox News

They can also include Reye’s syndrome, a mysterious brain illness that usually begins after a viral infection, and Guillain–Barré syndrome, another virus-triggered ailment in which the immune system attacks the peripheral nervous system.

From Scientific American

At the same time, worries over Reye’s syndrome, a rare complication in children who take aspirin, led to a rise in the popularity of acetaminophen.

From New York Times

Children taking aspirin should probably avoid it as well, because aspirin use and flu has been linked to Reye’s syndrome, an extremely rare but dangerous swelling of the liver and brain.

From New York Times