Wegener's Granulomatosis - Causes - Diagnosis - Symptoms -Treatment
Wegeners Granulomatosis: Overview / Symptoms / Treatment / Prevention
Wegener's Granulomatosis is a rare disorder which causes inflammation of blood vessels (vasculitis) in the upper respiratory tract (nose, sinuses, ears), lungs, and kidneys. Destructive lesions can develop in the upper and lower respiratory tract and the kidney. In the kidney, these lesions cause glomerulonephritis that may result in hematuria (blood in the urine) and kidney failure.
Wegener's granulomatosis on the leg (Image)
Wegener's granulomatosis is a disease that can affect many organ systems (systemic) and primarily causes lung (pulmonary) and kidney (renal) disease, but is also capable of affecting the skin.
Respiratory system (Image)
In the respiratory system, air is breathed in through the nasal passageways, travels through the trachea and bronchi to the lungs.
Glomerulonephritis
Glomerulonephritis is a type of kidney disease caused by inflammation of the internal kidney structures (glomeruli). Glomerulonephritis may be a temporary and reversible condition, or it may be progressive. Progressive glomerulonephritis may result in destruction of the kidney glomeruli and chronic renal failure and end stage renal disease.
Kidney anatomy (Image)
The kidneys are responsible for removing wastes from the body, regulating electrolyte balance and blood pressure, and the stimulation of red blood cell production.
Wegener's Granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis is an uncommon disease, in which the blood vessels are inflamed (vasculitis). This inflammation damages important organs of the body by limiting blood flow to those organs and destroying normal tissue. Wegener's granulomatosis mainly affects the respiratory tract (sinuses, nose, trachea [windpipe], and lungs) and the kidneys, from NIAID.
Wegener's Granulomatosis
Wegener's granulomatosis involves inflammation of the arteries of the lungs, nasal passages and kidneys. "Incomplete" forms exist involving only one of these areas. When both the lungs and kidneys are affected, the condition can be called generalized Wegener's granulomatosis. When only the lungs are involved, the condition can be called limited Wegener's granulomatosis, from MedicineNet.
