What Is Wegeners Granulomatosis?

From WeggiePedia

Wegener's Granulomatosis is a rare autoimmune Vasculitis which damages the small to medium blood vessels in the body damaging the Sinus, Lungs and Kidney's. Think of it as the body's immune system attacking healthy tissue.

The first case was described by Heinz Klinger (pic at right), a German medical student, in 1931. Several years later a German pathologist, Friedrich Wegener (the gentleman at the top-left of every page), described 3 additional cases and recognized the disorder as a distinct form of vasculitis. Other names occasionally used for Wegener's Granulomatosus are Wegener’s arteritis or Wegener’s disease.[1]

A cause of the disease remains elusive and much research needs to be done. As a consequence, diagnosis is difficult with patients presenting with a number of apparently unrelated symptoms over weeks, months or even years. A definitive diagnosis is normally arrived at after a Kidney or Lung biopsy. Patients are usually hospitalized for a period of time depending on the severity of the case. Treatment is mandatory as this disease is fatal if left unchecked.

Common treatment protocols involve a combination or all of Cyclophosphamide, Prednisone, Bactrim and Methotrextate.