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Vasculitis, also called angeitis, is the inflammation of blood vessels that can affect only one or several vessels, and even different organs in the body. Thus, the main consequence of vasculitis is the reduction or blockage of blood flow in the affected vessel, which can result in ischemia, which is a lack of oxygen in the tissue and can lead to necrosis of the inflamed area.
Vasculitis can be classified according to the causes and symptoms into:
- Primary vasculitis, in which symptoms can appear in healthy people, with no history of disease;
- Secondary vasculitis, whose symptoms appear in people who have been diagnosed with a disease, such as lupus erythematosus, Buerger's disease, schönlein-henoch purpura.
The diagnosis of both types of vasculitis is made by means of laboratory blood tests and imaging, being important for the doctor to check the severity of the disease and indicate the most specific treatment, which can be with corticosteroids or immunosuppressants.
Possible causes
The causes of the appearance of vasculitis are not entirely clear, but in most cases it seems to be related to an autoimmune disease, so it is believed that genetic predisposition is one of the important factors for its manifestation.
However, currently there are environmental factors that show the ability to develop vasculitis in the person, such as the use of cocaine or amphetamines, the presence of viruses such as hepatitis B or C and parvovirus B19. In addition, vasculitis can also be caused by side effects of some medication, such as Penicillamine, Propylthiouracil, Hydralazine, Minocycline or exposure to silica.
What are the symptoms
Since any blood vessel in the body can be affected, vasculitis can cause different symptoms depending on the region or organ that was affected by the disease. Thus, the symptoms of vasculitis according to the affected region, can be:
- Skin: purple spots that appear in groups and can lead to skin breakdown, tingling or loss of sensation in the region;
- Nose and ears: recurrent sinusitis, nosebleeds, recurrent nasal ulcers or ear infections, temporary deafness, hoarse voice, nasal pain;
- Kidney: presence of proteins and / or blood in the urine, high blood pressure, swollen limbs and face, cloudy urine;
- Intestine: abdominal pain often after meals, blood in the stool;
- Lung: coughing up blood, shortness of breath, wheezing when breathing, antibiotic-resistant pneumonia;
- Joints: pain, swelling, heat, redness and difficulty in moving the joints;
- Eyes: difficulty in vision, double or blurred vision, pain in the eye or red eye;
- Limb nerves: muscle weakness, tingling, paralysis.
Other symptoms that may also be present in vasculitis are weight loss without apparent cause, recurrent body pain, extreme tiredness, loss of appetite, malaise or fever.
If there is a suspicion of having vasculitis, it is important to seek medical attention as soon as possible, as vasculitis can severely damage organs such as the lungs or kidneys.
How the diagnosis is made
The diagnosis of vasculitis is made by the angiologist or rheumatologist and will be made after analyzing the person's disease history, and in some cases laboratory tests such as detection of anti-cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), which are antibodies that attack the cytoplasm, may be requested. , urine test, electrolytes, creatinine, complete blood test and FAN test, which aims to detect the presence of autoantibodies in the blood. Understand what the FAN exam is and how it is done.
In cases of suspicion that vasculitis has affected an organ, tests may also be necessary to assess the function of Organs affected organs, such as magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and computed tomography, in addition to biopsy.
How the treatment is done
The treatment of the different forms of vasculitis is carried out according to the reason of the inflammation and the severity of the person's condition. In some cases, treatment is done with corticosteroid drugs, such as hydrocortisone, dexamethasone, mometasone and betamethasone, for example, in addition to immunosuppressants such as azathioprine, cyclophosphamide or mycophenolate. Check out what types of corticosteroids and what they are for.
However, in severe vasculitis, which affects organs, the individual must remain in the hospital to receive the appropriate treatment, in some cases surgery is necessary to reestablish the blood flow in the vessel injured by the inflammation.
Along with the treatment by drugs, the practice of light physical exercises, adequate rest, healthy eating and reduction of stress levels has been shown to be important and with excellent results for the treatment of vasculitis.