Reye

Reye is a surname and, less commonly, a given name. The name appears in various European and English-speaking contexts, but reliable sources do not single out a definitive origin. In medical literature, "Reye" is best known in connection with Reye's syndrome, a rare but serious condition affecting the brain and liver. The syndrome was described in the 1960s and is named after the physician who first identified the pattern of encephalopathy and hepatic dysfunction.

Reye's syndrome typically follows a viral illness and became strongly associated with the use of aspirin-containing medications in children and adolescents. Public health guidelines since the 1980s have discouraged aspirin use in people under 19 for fever or viral symptoms to reduce risk. Early symptoms include vomiting, listlessness, and irritable behavior; as the condition progresses, confusion, seizures, and coma may occur. Diagnosis is based on clinical features, laboratory tests showing hepatic dysfunction and elevated ammonia, and exclusion of other causes. Treatment is supportive, often in intensive care, focusing on maintaining brain perfusion, managing liver dysfunction, and preventing complications. The outcome varies; with prompt treatment many children recover fully, though some may experience lasting neurological or developmental effects.

Beyond the disease, Reye appears in the names of individuals and in institutional or geographic contexts where the surname is present. In the absence of a widely known person, the term remains primarily encountered as a family name and in the eponym of the medical syndrome.