- Source: Moon face
A Moon face is a medical sign in which the face develops a rounded appearance (reminiscent of the "Man in the Moon") due to fat deposits on the sides of the face.
Symptoms and causes
Moon face is often associated with Cushing's syndrome or steroid treatment (especially corticosteroids), which has led to it being known as Cushingoid facies.
Moon face is a type of corticosteroid-induced lipodystrophy along with "buffalo hump", which in one study occurred in 47% of the 820 patients. Moon face is among the most frequently reported adverse events of systemic glucocorticoids, along with insomnia (58%), mood disturbances (50%), and hyperphagia (49%).
Another long-term study of 88 patients on prednisone showed that lipodystrophy, such as moon face, was the most frequent adverse event, experienced by 63% of patients.
Incidence
The risk for moon face increases with higher doses and longer time on steroid treatment. One study showed an increased risk in women, those younger than 50 years of age, and those with a high initial BMI.
Complications
This change in facial appearance can be very distressing to patients taking steroids. Later studies of the 88 patients showed that those who had lipodystrophy had a greater risk for metabolic syndrome characteristics such as increased blood pressure, higher plasma concentrations of fasting glucose, triglycerides, and total cholesterol, along with lower HDL-cholesterol.
Treatment
Cessation of steroid therapy or treatment of the cause of Cushing's syndrome causes moon face to slowly decrease and eventually vanish. One study proposed that limiting calories could decrease the risk of corticosteroid-induced lipodystrophy.
References
External links
- Source: Moon-Face
"Moon-Face" is a short story by Jack London, first published in 1902. It explores the subject of extreme antipathy.
Plot summary
The story follows the unnamed protagonist and his irrational hatred of John Claverhouse, a man with a "moon-face". The protagonist clearly states that his hatred of him is irrational, saying: "Why do we not like him? Ah, we do not know why; we know only that we do not. We have taken a dislike, that is all. And so I with John Claverhouse." The protagonist becomes obsessed with Claverhouse, hating his face, his laugh, his entire life. The protagonist observes that Claverhouse engages in illegal fishing with dynamite and hatches a scheme to kill Claverhouse.
The protagonist teaches a dog, Bellona, to do one thing and one thing only, retrieval, with emphasis on water retrieving and taking the stick back to the thrower no matter where they were. Claverhouse is presented with Bellona before his upcoming trout fishing trip. The protagonist observes from a distance with glee as Claverhouse lights a stick of dynamite and throws it into the water. Bellona, trained to retrieve, fetches the explosive. Claverhouse runs from the dog in futility until "just as she caught up, he in full stride, and she leaping with nose at his knee, there was a sudden flash, a burst of smoke, a terrific detonation, and where man and dog had been the instant before there was naught to be seen but a big hole in the ground."
The death is ruled an accident while engaged in illegal fishing. The protagonist takes pride in killing Claverhouse with no mess or brutality and lives in peace.
Plagiarism accusations
In July 1901, two pieces of fiction appeared within the same month: London's "Moon-Face", in the San Francisco Argonaut, and Frank Norris' "The Passing of Cock-eye Blacklock", in Century Magazine. Newspapers showed the similarities between the stories, which London said were "quite different in manner of treatment, [but] patently the same in foundation and motive." London explained both writers based their stories on the same newspaper account.
References
External links
Text of the short story at Sonoma State University Archived 2008-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
Text of the short story at Project Gutenberg
Moon-Face public domain audiobook at LibriVox
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