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What is vasculitis and how to treat it

Vasculitides is a group of diseases, based on pathology of the vascular wall inflammatory nature. This affects and arteries and veins and lymphatic vessels. An important difference from other inflammation (e.g., thrombophlebitis) is the lack of a clear relationship with infectious pathogens or exposure to agents associated with toxins.

Manifestations of the disease are detected at the level of local changes in the surrounding tissues, but there is General (systemic) signs and symptoms, then the symptoms of vasculitis manifested by multiple changes in the vasculature of individual organs and tissues.

  • hepatitis viruses A, b and C;
  • cytomegalovirus;
  • the causative agent of HIV;
  • Epstein-Barr;
  • parvovirus;
  • streptococci;
  • staphylococci;
  • borreliae;
  • coli Klebsiella;
  • chlamydia;
  • Salmonella;
  • with Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In the views of scientists on the structure of damage it can highlight the role of:

  • direct effects on the endothelial cells of microorganisms or toxins, leading to violation of their functions;
  • education abnormal immune complexes, their introduction into the vessel wall;
  • the appearance of autoantibodies to neutrophils and endothelial cells;
  • increased cytokine synthesis;
  • the formation of granulomatous growths.

Changes in the internal organs

Changes associated with vasculitis depend on the degree of destruction of the supply vessel. Possible development:

  • heart attacks the internal organs;
  • small - or large-focal sclerosis;
  • diffuse atrophy of the organ with loss of its functions;
  • chronic ischemia with scar formation;
  • hemorrhages into surrounding tissue;
  • gangrene.

In addition, the clinic is faced with the manifestations of pathology of altered organs. For example, ischemia of the renal arteries leads to resistant hypertension, eating disorders lung manifestations of pulmonary and cardiac insufficiency, vascular lesions of the skin — hemorrhagic diateza.

Classification

The variety of the disease has allowed to divide vasculitis on different grounds. Among the primary systemic forms classification of vasculitis provides the predominant caliber of the affected vessels:

  • the aorta and other major branches, these include Takayasu's disease, Horton disease (temporal arteritis);
  • arteries of medium and small diameter, include periarteritis nodosa, granulomatosis, necrotizing vasculitis, lymphatic syndrome;
  • small arteries, capillaries, sample, thromboangiitis obliterans or Buerger's disease, vasculitis cryoglobulinemias;
  • combined form.

Secondary vasculitis differ in antigenic principle:

  • caused by infection (with syphilis, tuberculosis,sepsis, fungal diseases);
  • having the basis of the connective tissue (rheumatism, rheumatoid vasculitis, cutaneous and articular changes in lupus erythematosus);
  • caused by hypersensitivity (at malignant tumours, serum sickness, a rare pathology of cryoglobulinemia, disease Henoch-Schonlein purpura).

Cryoglobulinemic vasculitis affecting the small vessels (venules, arterioles, capillaries, mainly manifested in the skin. Different electoral damage of the glomeruli. In this patient, serum find crioglobuline — specific protein complexes that respond to temperature below 37 degrees.

The most common forms of vasculitis

Not all types of vasculitis occur equally often. Consider the most common form of the disease.

Nonspecific aortoarteritis occurs in adults, working with professional hazards (salts of lead aerosols in welding, agricultural fertilizers). Lesions localized in the region of the aortic arch, brachiocephalic arteries, less often in the thoracic and abdominal sections in the bifurcation area. The vessels are thickened, sclerotic (fibrous), in the formation of parietal thrombotic mass.