*Vasculitis

Summary

Vasculitis is an autoimmune related inflammation of the blood vessels. It happens when the body’s immune system attacks the blood vessel by mistake. It can happen because of an infection, a medicine, or another disease. The cause is often unknown. Vasculitis can affect arteries, veins and capillaries. Arteries are vessels that carry blood from the heart to the body’s organs. Veins are the vessels that carry blood back to the heart. Capillaries are tiny blood vessels that connect the small arteries and veins. When a blood vessel becomes inflamed, it can narrow, making it more difficult for blood to get through, close off completely so that blood can’t get through, or stretch and weaken so much that it bulges. The bulge is called an aneurysm. If it bursts, it can cause dangerous bleeding inside the body. Symptoms of vasculitis can vary, but usually include fever, swelling and a general sense of feeling ill. The main goal of treatment is to stop the inflammation. Steroids and other medicines to stop inflammation are often helpful.

From the Autoimmune Association.

Symptoms

General signs and symptoms of most types of vasculitis include:

• Fever

• Headache

• Fatigue

• Weight loss

• General aches and pains

Other signs and symptoms are related to the parts of the body affected, including:

• Digestive system. If your stomach or intestines are affected, you may experience pain after eating. Ulcers and perforations are possible and may result in blood in the stool.

• Ears. Dizziness, ringing in the ears and abrupt hearing loss may occur.

• Eyes. Vasculitis can make your eyes look red and itch or burn. Giant cell arteritis can cause double vision and temporary or permanent blindness in one or both eyes. This is sometimes the first sign of the disease.

• Hands or feet. Some types of vasculitis can cause numbness or weakness in a hand or foot. The palms of the hands and soles of the feet might swell or harden.

• Lungs. You may develop shortness of breath or even cough up blood if vasculitis affects your lungs.

• Skin. Bleeding under the skin can show up as red spots. Vasculitis can also cause lumps or open sores on your skin.

From the Autoimmune Association.

Diagnostic Criteria

Under Investigation

Study Classification Criteria

Under Investigation

Diagnostic Tests

Under Investigation

Organized Autoimmunity

(Alternative Autoimmune Disease Classification: FIEM, MIEM or BIEM, or FEM, MEM or BEM)

1. sex predominance (is an autoimmune disease primarily found in genetic Females, Males, or equally in Both?)

   1. Under Investigation

2. Inherited and acquired gene variations that cause increased susceptibility

   1. Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Associations

      1. Under Investigation

   2. Other Gene Variations (mutations)

      1. Under Investigation

3. Gene Triggering Environmental Exposures

   1. Infections

      1. COVID-19 (Chang et. al, 2023, found a significantly higher risk of vasculitis following COVID-19 infection in a study of 3,814,479 participants)

   2. Toxins

      1. Under Investigation

   3. Stress

      1. Needs to be assessed for each patient

4. Multiple interactive and destructive immune system pathologies

   1. Under Investigation

Tissue-Type or Cell-Type Attacked

Under Investigation

Treatment(s)

Under Investigation

Managing Specialist(s)

Under Investigation

Research Authors

Under Investigation

Research Institutions

Under Investigation

Average Time from Symptom Onset to Diagnosis

Under Investigation

Last Updated

September 05, 2023

References

Chang R, Yen-Ting Chen T, Wang SI, Hung YM, Chen HY, Wei CJ. Risk of autoimmune diseases in patients with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study. EClinicalMedicine. 2023 Feb;56:101783. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2022.101783. Epub 2023 Jan 10. PMID: 36643619; PMCID: PMC9830133.

Vasculitis. Autoimmune Association. (2022, September 28). Retrieved October 12, 2022, from https://autoimmune.org/disease-information/vasculitis/