List of incurable diseases

This is a comprehensive list of incurable diseases. It includes both physical and mental diseases.

A

• Asthma - Asthma is a disease that makes the bronchial tubes more susceptible to inflammation and irritation. There is no way to cure it, but there are ways to treat it so the person isn't as likely to have an asthmatic episode.^[1]
• Adrenocortical carcinoma - A form of cancer that originates in the cortex of the adrenal gland and has no definitive cure.

C

• Cancer - Cancer is a heterogenous disease that takes many forms. All forms of cancer have no cure, but there are treatments for almost every form that can drive the disease into remission.^[2]
• Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy - Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy is a disease in the body's blood vessels that causes a buildup of a protein that can cause the blood vessels in the brain to burst, resulting in headaches. It is commonly brought on by dementia, but can occur in a person who never had dementia.^[3]
• Common Cold - The common cold is a disease that mutates too frequently, and is rarely fatal,^[4] for a vaccine or cure to be created.^[5]
• Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease - This is a neurodegenerative disease. There is no treatment or cure for this disease,^[6] although there has been extensive efforts done to reduce the change of being infected with it.
• Coeliac disease - Coeliac (or celiac) disease is an autoimmune disorder and chronic inflammatory disease. It is triggered by the ingestion of gluten, a protein found in wheat barley and rye. Coeliac disease causes the inflammation of the gut and small intestines. After frequent exposures, villi in the intestines can be eroded which weakens intestinal lining.^[7] Coeliac sufferers still ingesting gluten will experience varying levels of pain, diarrhoea, gas and bloating after initial exposure. Long term exposure can result in further health problems such as anemia, musculoskeletal problems, nerve damage, seizures, osteoporosis and others.^[8] Currently there is no cure and the only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet,^[9] although there is ongoing research into looking for a cure.

D

• Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor - A rare cancer that has no standardised treatment or cure.
• Diabetes - Diabetes is a common disorder that impairs the body's ability to produce and use insulin.^[10] There is no cure for it, but there are effective treatment plans to help control it.^[11]

E

• Ebola virus - Although there is treatment that has resulted in patients infected with this virus to have a full recovery,^[12] there is no vaccine or cure available. However, there are currently two potential vaccines that are under evaluation by the WHO.^[12] The only way to currently recover from this virus is to have a constant stream of medication and fluids.

F

• Fatal Familial Insomnia - This is a prion disease that is inherited and causes insomnia and other symptoms.^[13][14] The average life span of a person who has Fatal Familial Insomnia is around 18 months after it developing.^[15]

H

• HIV - No cure exists for HIV, but medication exists that can help control the symptoms of it.^[16]

M

• Macular degeneration - Degeneration of eyesight with no cure that can repair the damaged tissue. However, there are management techniques that reduce future damage caused by this disease.
• Marburg virus - This virus is very deadly and has no treatment, vaccine, or cure available.^[17]
• Multiple sclerosis - Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged.^[18] This damage disrupts the ability of parts of the nervous system to communicate, resulting in a range of signs and symptoms, including physical, mental, and sometimes psychiatric problems.^[19][20][21] There is no known cure.^[18]

P

• Progeria - Progeria has no cure and a very small amount of treatments.^[22] However, there is a medicine in the making that is undergoing testing and trials that may lead to a cure.^[23] The disorder usually leads to death at a young age.^[24]
• Polio - While there is a vaccine to prevent Polio, there is no known cure for it.^[25]

S

• Schizophrenia - Many treatments are available and proven to improve the condition, however, there is no definitive cure for this mental disease.^[26][27]
• Spinocerebellar Ataxia - This is a genetic disorder that inhibits the person's ability to use their nervous system.^[28]

See also

• Lists of diseases - A list of lists for all the different kinds of diseases that are known.

References