Relapsing polychondritis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Relapsing polychondritis | |
|---|---|
| Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | M94.1 |
| ICD-9 | 733.99 |
| DiseasesDB | 10248 |
| eMedicine | med/2000 derm/375 |
| MeSH | D011081 |
Relapsing polychondritis is a condition characterized by deterioration of cartilage.
It is also known as chronic atrophic polychondritis, Meyenburg-Altherr-Uehlinger syndrome, von Meyenburg's disease, generalized chondromalacia, and systemic chondromalacia.
Contents |
[edit] Presentation
Though any cartilage in the body may be affected, in many cases the disease affects several areas while sparing others completely. Parts of the body where cartilage is found, and therefore potentially affected by polychondritis, include the ears, nose, throat, heart valves, joints, and rib cage, among others. Several conditions may result from relapsing polychondritis, including Type 3 Tracheomalacia and Vasculitis. A photograph of polychondritis is shown here [1]
[edit] Causes
Reasons for disease onset are not known.
Relapsing polychondritis may be an auto-immune disease[2] in which the human's body's immune system begins to attack and destroy the cartilage tissues in the body.
[edit] Treatment
Treatment plans typically involve suppression of the immune system with medicines, often causing an increased risk of other infections.
[edit] Onset
While the disease may first present at various times, it most frequently presents in the late 40's to early 50's. Some literature reports a slightly higher occurrence in females than males, while other authors assert that sex is not a statistically significant factor in the incidence of the disease. Relapsing polychondritis is one of many subclasses of disease in the area of Rheumatology.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Polychondritis Educational Society, Ltd. (PES)
- Dr. D. E. Trentham research paper
- MedicineNet.com
- The Polychondritis Group - Support Group
- One RP sufferer goes into remission"
 |
This medical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
