Vasculitis

What is Vasculitis?

Vasculitis is an inflammation of a blood or lymph vessel. Vasculitis can be divided into three groups containing different diseases:

Large vessel Vasculitis
Giant cell (temporal) Arteritis, Takayasu‘s Arteritis

Medium-sized vessel Vasculitis
Polyarteritis Nodosa, Kawasaki‘s Disease

Small vessel Vasculitis
Wegener’s Granulomatosis, Churg-Strauss Syndrome, Mikroscopic Polyangiitis, Henoch-Schönlein Purpura, Essential Cryoglobulinaemic Vasculitis, Cutaneous Leukocytoclastic Angiitis.  

What are some examples of vasculitis syndromes?

Wegener’s Granulomatosis
Death of the small and middle sized blood vessels, granuloma in nose, lung and kidney, involvement of the eye, the lung, the upper respiratory tract, glomerulonephritis, arthralgia.

Churg-Strauss Syndrome
Vasculitis of small to medium-sized vessels, bronchial asthma, eosinophilia

Mikroscopic Polyangiitis
Death of "microscopic“ vessels, glomerulonephritis, involment of liver and skin, arthralgia, coronary arteritis.

Necrotizing Crescentic Glomerulonephritis
A rapidly progressing kidney disease 

 

Please note that many of these diseases are very rare.

Should you suffer from similar symptoms, please consult your physician.

Disclaimer