Vasculitis refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders that is characterized by inflammatory destruction of blood vessels. Inflamed blood vessels are liable to occlude or rupture or develop a thrombus, and thereby lose the ability to deliver oxygen and other nutrients to tissues and organs. Depending on the size, distribution, and severity of the affected vessels, vasculitis can result in clinical syndromes that vary in severity from a minor self-limited rash to a life-threatening multisystem disorder 1.
Because it often begins with nonspecific symptoms and signs and unfolds slowly over weeks or months, vasculitis is one of the great diagnostic challenges in all of medicine. Yet, physicians who know the general and specific clinical clues for vasculitis can often learn to suspect when vasculitis is present at the bedside. Establishing the diagnosis of vasculitis requires confirmation by laboratory tests, usually a biopsy of an involved artery but sometimes an angiogram or a serologic test 4, 5.
The demographic and epidemiologic characteristics of vasculitic disorders vary greatly by geography. This variation may reflect genetics, environmental differences, and the prevalence of other risk factors.7
Although some patients with vasculitis are seen by other specialists (dermatologists, pediatricians, internists), only patients who were seen and managed by a rheumatologist were recruited in our study. Thus, some forms of vasculitis (e.g. IgA vasculitis, cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitis, and Kawasaki’s disease) may be underestimated.
Vasculitis may occur as a primary process or may be secondary to another underlying disease 4. We studied only patients with primary vasculitis; patients with secondary vasculitis were not included. ...
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...temic vasculitis in children 17. Ninety percent of cases are in the pediatric age group. There is a male predominance with reported male-to-female ratios of 1.2:1 to 1.8:1 18. IgA vasculitis in our study was as frequent as ACR study 8, but much lower than Denmark study. In our study, it was slightly more common in males (1.2:1).
Cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitisis (hypersensitivity vasculitis) is a clinical term that generally refers to an Immune Complex -mediated small vessel vasculitis of the skin that spares internal organs and usually follows drug exposures or infections 19. It was the second most common type of vasculitis in our study (8.2%). The frequency of Cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitisis in population of Denmark 10 is much higher than population of northeast of Iran (table 2). We found a male: female ratio of 0.8 to 1 and the mean age was 38 years.
(“Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”, 2012). The primary factor in developing SLE is a genetic component although it is not fully understood (Robinson, Sheets Cook, & Currie, 2011). It has been shown that identical twins have a concordance rate of 24% whereas fraternal twins have a rate of 2% (“Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”, 2012). In addition, individuals have an 8-fold increased risk of developing SLE if they have a first-degree relative with the disease (Richman & Schub,
In 1931 the first case of Wegener’s Disease was discovered by Heinz Klinger, a German medical student (although it was not known as Wegener’s Disease at that time). It was not until several years later in 1936, that three more cases were discovered. A German pathologist, Friedrich Wegener described and found this disorder as a distinct form of Vasculitis, a rare blood vessel inflammation that since the 1950’s has been called Wegener’s Disease Granulomatosis. (http://www.hopkinsvasculitis.org/types-vasculitis/wegeners-granulomatosis/2016)
Herpes Simplex is a common virus that causes infection in humans. This virus is spread in both humans and animals. However, humans are the primary reservoirs for HSV and are the only ones that experience any symptoms. There are two types of Herpes Simplex known as HSV-1 and HSV-2. HSV-1 primarily causes oral herpes while HSV-2 causes genital herpes.1 This virus is easily contracted and often during one’s childhood. Unfortunately, this virus is latent and reoccurs every so often, more so during times of stress. Herpes Simplex is a mild infection for most, however, this virus can lead to many serious complications.
This condition occurs when the immune system produce abnormal response against substances that are normally present in the body. The immune system becomes incapable in differentiating healthy body tissues and antigens, which results in the destruction of normal body tissues. This is usually characterized by hypersensitivity reaction almost identical to the response in allergic conditions. The cause of the autoimmune disorders are still unknown, however, there is a theory stating that some microorganisms or drugs may have trigger these changes. These can also affect one or multiple organs or tissues. Some of the most commonly affected are blood vessels, joints, muscles, red blood cells, skin, and connective tissues.
The majority of clinical cases of laminitis occur at pasture where there is an accumulation of rapidly fermentable non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) such as fructans, simple sugars or starches (Geor, 2010). Pasture-associated laminitis has major economic and welfare implications in the equine sector. Increased risk factors include insulin resistance, increased insulin secretory response, hypertriglyceridaemia and obesity (Asplin, et al., 2007;Carter, et al., 2009 and de Laat, et al., 2010). Insulin resistance has been associated with a number of problems in the horse, most notably laminitis. Insulin resistance can be defined as a physiological condition in which cells have a diminished response to normal actions of the hormone insulin. Insulin is produced but the cells become resistant and are less capable in transporting glucose from the bloodstream to muscle and other tissues. In horses, insulin resistance is associated with a number of diseases such as Equine Metabolic Syndrome (Powell, et al., 2002; Hoffman, et al., 2003;Vick, et al., 2006 and Frank, et al., 2009), Equine Cushing Disease (McGowan, et al., 2004 and Walsh, et al., 2009) and Laminitis (Treiber, et al., 2006;Bailey, et al., 2007;McGowan, 2008 and Geor, 2008). Obesity and insulin resistance in ponies has become a common problem and there is a growing awareness on the role that diet and exercise has to play (Jeffcott, et al., 1986; Frank, et al., 2006 and Vick & Adams, 2007). Over-expressed adipocytokines, such as leptin, have been suggested to impair insulin signalling and cause the up regulation of inflammatory cytokines. This then further contributes to impaired insulin signalling and endothelial dysfunction (Radin, et al., 2009). The restriction of energy throu...
The contributing factor is lack of knowledge and family medical screening. Understanding the history of your genetic line specific to your race and ethnicity may be helpful in preventing heart disease later on in adulthood.... ... middle of paper ... ... Current studies of note have focused primarily on middle-class and/or suburban populations.
Polio is a viral disease. It cripples thousands of people and infects even more every year. Even though millions are inoculated, and the polio disease has been successfully purged from hundreds of countries still thousands of people and developing countries are infected and still people are dying. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) polio affects the Central Nervous System, or CNS; by infesting the intestines and transmitting it into the nerves thought the blood vessels. There the virus spreads through the nerve cells to the brain stem or other motor units, while forever damaging the nerves.
Since 1960 the age-adjusted mortality rates for cardiovascular disease (CVD) has declined steadily in the U.S. due to multiple factors, but still remains one of the primary causes of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Greater control of risk factors and improved treatments for cardiovascular disease has significantly contributed to this decline (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). In the U.S. alone it claims approximately 830,000 each year and accounts for 1/6 of all deaths under the age of 65 (Weiss and Lonnquist, 2011). Based on the 2007 mortality rate data an average of 1 death every 37 seconds is due to cardiovascular disease (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009). Controlling and reducing risk factors is crucial for saving lives. There are a number of contributing risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which may appear in the form of hereditary, behavioral, and psychological, all of which ultimately converge in social or cultural factors.
Rheumatoid Arthritis is when the joints are chronically inflamed, which happens because it is an autoimmune disease which means that the immune system attacks the body tissues. Although Rheumatoid Arthritis mainly affects the joints, it can also affect other organs.
Bibliography: Arthritis Foundation, Understanding Arthritis (1986); Kelley, William N., et al., eds., Textbook of Rheumatology, 2d ed., (1985); McCarty, Daniel F., ed., Arthritis and Allied Conditions, 11th ed. (1988); Moll, J. M. H., Rheumatology in Clinical Practice (1987).
HSP is a type of vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels, that targets mainly children between two and thirteen years old. The disorder itself is rare, and recurrence even more rare, with adults showing much more severe symptoms than children on average. If untreated HSP can be fatal due to kidney and intestinal complications.
Tomson, J., & Lip, G. Y. H. (2005). Blood pressure demographics: Nature or nurture … … genes or environment? BMC Medicine, 3, 3-4. doi:10.1186/1741-7015-3-3
"Rheumatoid Arthritis: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 14 May 2014.
Kawasaki Syndrome (KS) is an acute, generalized systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology that often involves the coronary arteries, indicating KS as a main causative factor of acquired heart disease in American children (). KS causes more than 5,000 hospitalizations per year with 75%-85% of cases occurring in children younger than 5 years of age ().
One of the most common mysteries in the world is the development of autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disease is when the immune system, which usually keeps your body healthy thinks that your healthy cells are antigens and attacks them. This is irony right? It is against properties of evolution for an immune system to attack itself causing sickness and possibly death if untreated. There are about 80 different types of autoimmune diseases, which usually have periods of little to no symptoms and worsening symptoms. What particularly creates confusion in the world is the autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease, which affects almost about five million people worldwide.