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Query: UMLS:C0042384 (vasculitis)
 20,525 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Juvenile dermatomyositis is a relatively rare, multisystem disease characterized by a nonsuppurative myositis which causes symmetrical weakness, rash and vasculitis; this last can affect the gastrointestinal tract and the myocardium. Late development of calcinosis is seen in approximately two thirds of patients. Its etiology is unknown, although there are clues that it may be an unusual response to a viral infection. Some 50% of children will have a very acute, rapidly progressive disease, while the remainder may present subacutely with rash and a gradually progressive weakness of muscles, joint contractures and very occasionally calcinosis. When there is acute muscle damage, the creatine phosphokinase will be raised, but it is not uncommon to have a normal erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and antinuclear antibodies are usually present. Early in acute cases immune complexes will often be detected. In the presence of vasculitis, monitoring the disease by levels of von Willebrand's factor 8 antigen may be helpful. Although the prognosis for survival has steadily improved, it remains a serious illness and death can occur in the acute phase due to myocarditis, progressive unresponsive myositis, perforation of the bowel as a sequel to vasculitis ulceration or occasionally lung involvement. Intercurrent infections during the course of the disease also give rise to problems. In its management, there is still a question as to whether intravenous pulses of methylprednisone might be more valuable than oral corticosteroids; in either case it must be given in adequate amounts early in the course of the disease to control muscle inflammation. Once this is controlled rehabilitation commences.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Juvenile dermatomyositis. 153 78

Dermatomyositis of childhood onset is characterized by vasculitic lesions and often complicated by calcinosis. We describe 32 patients with juvenile dermatomyositis. All suffered from vasculitic skin changes like facial erythema often with edema, Gottron's sign, telangiectasias, erythematous eruptions, different rashes and necrotic ulcerations. Vasculitis appeared also in inner organs as gastrointestinal ulceration, neurologic and cardiac manifestation. 4 children complained of Raynaud's phenomenon. Calcinosis of soft tissues developed in 21 patients within 0.5 to 10 years after onset. In 6 of them we saw regression of calcium deposits after a progressive phase of 1 to 5 years. Functional outcome in juvenile dermatomyositis depends mainly on the degree of calcinosis together with shortening of diseased muscles.
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PMID:Vasculitis and calcinosis in juvenile dermatomyositis. 184 13

This paper looks at the problem confronting a doctor evaluating a patient with anticentromere antibody who does not have evidence of disease along the spectrum from CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, oesophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, telangiectasia) to progressive systemic sclerosis. Of 33 people with anticentromere antibody, 21 had CREST and two had scleroderma. Of the other 10 with a positive anticentromere antibody, three had systemic lupus erythematosus (two with digital vasculitis), three very active seronegative polyarthritis, three Raynaud's phenomenon, and one a claudication syndrome involving the legs. A positive antinuclear antibody test does not always indicate the presence of a connective tissue disease, but the presence of anticentromere antibody without systemic sclerosis or CREST often indicates the presence of another sometimes serious underlying rheumatic or connective tissue disease.
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PMID:Anticentromere antibody in patients without CREST and scleroderma: association with active digital vasculitis, rheumatic and connective tissue disease. 280

The pathological findings in the lungs and related organs of 26 patients (21 female, 5 male) with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), with onset of disease before age 20 years, were reviewed. Several categories of lung lesions were found. Chronic interstitial pneumonitis was present in all 26 patients and was severe in 5. Acute pneumonia was present in 20, mild in 13, moderate in 2, and severe in 5. Alveolar hemorrhage, massive enough to cause death in 5, was seen in 18 patients, and pulmonary edema was found in 13. Fourteen patients had hyaline membranes indicative of acute alveolar damage (DAD), 12 had alveolitis obliterans, indicative of prior episodes of DAD, and 9 had bronchiolitis obliterans. Other parenchymal lesions were mild interstitial fibrosis in 12, alveolar hemosiderosis and alveolar overinflation in 10 each, and alveolar septal calcinosis with chronic renal insufficiency in 3. Pleural effusion, pleuritis, or pleural thickening were noted in 15 of 26, 6 of 23, and 7 of 23 evaluable patients, respectively. Vascular lesions were present in 16 as intimal thickening (9), thromboemboli (8), medial hypertrophy (6), calcinosis (3), and vasculitis (2). A previously unreported lesion was chronic (proliferative) peribronchitis, noted in 11 patients. Diaphragmatic lesions included mild variation in fiber size in 7, mild fibrosis in 2, and calcinosis in 1 of 13 evaluable patients. Correlation of the above lesions with previously described lung syndromes in SLE such as lupus pneumonitis, hemorrhagic lung disease, chronic interstitial fibrosis, lupus cor pulmonale, pleurisy, and "shrinking lung syndrome" are discussed.
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PMID:Pulmonary lesions in childhood onset systemic lupus erythematosus: analysis of 26 cases, and summary of literature. 360 12

The medical records of 47 children with dermatomyositis who were seen in the pediatric rheumatology clinic at the University of Michigan between 1964 and 1982 were reviewed. Although most children with dermatomyositis have a good prognosis, the best predictor of both good functional recovery and minimal calcinosis is early treatment after the onset of symptoms, using high doses of prednisone for an adequate length of time. Of the children given such treatment, 78% had good functional outcomes, and disabling calcinosis was seen in 20% or less. Children given treatment late in the course of disease and with low doses of steroids are more likely to be functionally limited and have a greater amount of dystrophic calcium salt deposition. In our study, only 33% of patients given such treatment had a mild disease course with good functional outcome. We have identified a subgroup of children with dermatomyositis who appear to do poorly despite optimal therapeutic regimens. These patients are distinguished by a severe disease course responding minimally to corticosteroid therapy and manifested by persistent muscle weakness, elevations of muscle enzyme activity, and severe generalized cutaneous vasculitis. These children are at high risk for the development of exoskeleton-like calcification; consideration should be given to combined immunosuppressive therapy early in the course of disease.
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PMID:Childhood dermatomyositis: factors predicting functional outcome and development of dystrophic calcification. 664 23

The collagen vascular diseases and vasculitis, in particular, are occasionally associated with chronic, relapsing lower extremity ulcerations. Different mechanisms can induce such ulcerations, and an understanding of the type of ulcerations is important in the differential diagnosis of patients with leg ulcerations in general, and management of these patients in particular. In this review, the authors analyze the various mechanisms of the leg ulcerations in these patients and their treatments: vasculitis, thrombosis, traumatisms, calcinosis, panniculitis, pyoderma gangrenosum, infections, and induced by treatments.
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PMID:[Leg ulcers in systemic diseases]. 774 Feb 31

This review discusses the current concepts of immunological tolerance, physiological vs. pathological autoimmunity, autoimmune diseases, and laboratory tests helpful in diagnosis. The autoantibodies in organ-specific autoimmune diseases are directed against antigens of the injured organs, whereas the antinuclear antibodies (ANA) detected in systemic autoimmune diseases are detected against a vast array of nuclear and intracellular antigens and peptides necessary for DNA/RNA synthesis, repair, splicing, and transcription. Knowledge of the mean titer and presence or absence of specific ANA types will help predict the nature of the disease and the response to therapy. Noteworthy features of these "ANA profiles" are (1) patients with systemic lupus erythematosus frequently have multiple types of ANA but anti-dsDNA and anti-SM are diagnostic, (2) patients with drug-induced lupus have ANA restricted to antihistone, (3) patients with mixed connective tissue disease have ANA restricted to anti-RNP, (4) patients with CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud's, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, and telangiectasia) syndrome have ANA restricted to anticentromere, (5) ANA with anti-SS-A/Ro specificity is associated with vasculitis and nephritis, (6) ANA with anti-SS-B/La and anti-nRNP specificities is associated with milder clinical disease, (7) ANAs with anti-Jo-1 and PM-Scl specificities are associated with pulmonary fibrosis and poor prognosis. Technological advances in the fields of molecular immunogenetics are guiding the studies of autoimmune diseases from serological and histopathological evaluations toward search for subcellular risk factors such as chemical and biological agents and susceptibility genes. Knowledge of these factors will help (1) to identify disease susceptibility genes prior to clinical onset and irreversible tissue damage, (2) to avoid environmental risk factors, and (3) to devise specific immunosuppressive strategies.
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PMID:Current concepts and advances in clinical laboratory testing for autoimmune diseases. 922 6

From 536 patients with the CREST syndrome (calcinosis, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, and telangiectasis), seven were identified as having peripheral neuropathy not attributable to another cause. Peripheral neuropathy developed 0 to 25 years after their first symptoms of scleroderma. Unexplained neuropathy in CREST patients (seven patients) was more frequent than in control subjects (two patients) matched for age, sex, time of evaluation, and geographic referral region. Multiple mononeuropathy occurred significantly more frequently in the CREST group (six patients) than in the control group (0 patients). Four sural nerve biopsy specimens from the CREST patients demonstrated multifocal fiber loss and perivascular inflammation; one was diagnostic for necrotizing vasculitis and two others were highly suggestive for necrotizing vasculitis. The density of myelinated fibers in three nerves from CREST patients was significantly decreased, whereas the index of dispersion (a measure of multifocal fiber loss) was increased, and the frequency of axonal degeneration was significantly increased. Based on these clinical and pathologic findings, we conclude that in the CREST syndrome multiple mononeuropathy, although occurring infrequently, occurs more frequently than by chance and necrotizing vasculitis is the cause of this multiple mononeuropathy.
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PMID:A case-control and nerve biopsy study of CREST multiple mononeuropathy. 940 60

A pilot study was conducted to assess the efficacy of early treatment of severe juvenile dermatomyositis (JDMS) patients with intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) and methotrexate (MTX). Twelve children diagnosed with severe JDMS were treated with IVMP and MTX. Six patients were treated early (within 6 weeks of the diagnosis) while in the other six patients, MTX was started 5-72 months after the diagnosis was made. The clinical responses of the patients to treatment, including alterations in muscle strength, muscle enzyme levels and corticosteroid dosage as well as the development of side-effects, were recorded. The indications for starting the treatment were defined and documented. The primary measures of response were resolution of the clinical indications for treatment, decreased activity of the disease manifestations and tapering of the corticosteroids to the minimal dose or discontinuation without clinical or biochemical flare. The main indications for starting IVMP and MTX were dysphagia and severe cutaneous vasculitis. All the patients received MTX orally for at least 8 months, as well as IVMP (30 mg/kg/dose), but none of the patients was on additional second-line treatments. The six patients who were treated early with MTX showed a significant clinical improvement. In five out of the six, the corticosteroid dosage was eventually reduced to <5 mg/day. None of them developed calcinosis. In contrast, two of the six patients who were treated late with MTX developed calcinosis. This study suggests that MTX and IVMP are a useful combination in the early treatment of severe JDMS. Given the fact that our sample was small, further studies in a controlled trial are necessary to confirm these findings.
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PMID:Efficacy of early treatment of severe juvenile dermatomyositis with intravenous methylprednisolone and methotrexate. 1079 26

Lupus erythematosus (LE) has many different clinical manifestations including a variety of cutaneous findings. Some of the cutaneous manifestations are not specific for LE, such as photosensitivity reactions, oral ulcers, alopecia, urticaria, vasculitis, vesiculo-bullous lesions, acral changes, cutaneous mucinoses, and cutaneous calcinosis. Other findings are specific for LE in that they are found only in patients who have lupus erythematosus. These LE-specific disorders include acute cutaneous LE, subacute cutaneous LE, and several forms of chronic cutaneous LE, including discoid LE. Skin biopsies are often helpful in differentiating LE-specific skin lesions from other disorders that can mimic them. Photoprotective measures and a number of drugs are useful in treating cutaneous LE.
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PMID:Cutaneous lupus erythematosus. 1130 32


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