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The diagnosis of TRAPS may show an increased IgD level in a possibly affected individual, other methods to ascertain a definite finding is via the following:
- Blood test
- Genetic test
- Clinical evaluation
In terms of treatment for TNF receptor associated periodic syndrome, corticosteroids can be administered for the reduction of the severity of this condition, NSAIDS may be used for fever.
Because CAPS is extremely rare and has a broad clinical presentation, it is difficult to diagnose, and a significant delay exists between symptom onset and definitive diagnosis. There are currently no clinical or diagnostic criteria for CAPS based solely on clinical presentation. Instead, diagnosis is made by genetic testing for "NLRP3" mutations. Acute phase reactants and white blood cell count are usually persistently elevated, but this is aspecific for CAPS.
The diagnosis is based on observing the patient and finding the constellation of symptoms and signs described above. A few blood tests help, by showing signs of long standing inflammation. There is no specific test for the disease, though now that the gene that causes the disease is known, that may change.
Routine laboratory investigations are non specific: anaemia, increased numbers of polymorphs, an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and elevated concentrations of C-reactive protein are typically all the abnormalities found. Lumbar puncture shows elevated levels of polymorphs (20-70% of cases) and occasionally raised eosinophil counts (0-30% of cases). CSF neopterin may be elevated.
The X ray changes are unique and charactistic of this syndrome. These changes include bony overgrowth due to premature ossification of the patella and the long bone epiphyses in very young children and bowing of long bones with widening and shortening periosteal reaction in older ones.
Audiometry shows a progressive sensineural deafness. Visual examination shows optic atrophy and an increase in the blind spot. CT is usually normal but may show enlargement of the ventricles. MRI with contrast may show enhancement of leptomeninges and cochlea consistent with chronic meningitis. EEG shows is non specific with slow waves and spike discharges.
Polymorphs tend to show increased expression of CD10.
Canakinumab has been approved for treatment of HIDS and has shown to be effective. The immunosuppressant drugs etanercept and anakinra have also shown to be effective. Statin drugs might decrease the level of mevalonate and are presently being investigated. A recent single case report highlighted bisphosphonates as a potential therapeutic option.
Since interleukin 1β plays a central role in the pathogenesis of the disease, therapy typically targets this cytokine in the form of monoclonal antibodies (such as canakinumab), binding proteins/traps (such as rilonacept), or interleukin 1 receptor antagonists (such as anakinra). These therapies are generally effective in alleviating symptoms and substantially reducing levels of inflammatory indices. Case reports suggest that thalidomide and the anti-IL-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab may also be effective.
Still's disease does not affect children under 6 months old.
Hyperimmunoglobulin D syndrome in 50% of cases is associated with mevalonate kinase deficiency which can be measured in the leukocytes.
The diagnosis is clinically made on the basis of the history of typical attacks, especially in patients from the ethnic groups in which FMF is more highly prevalent. An acute phase response is present during attacks, with high C-reactive protein levels, an elevated white blood cell count and other markers of inflammation. In patients with a long history of attacks, monitoring the kidney function is of importance in predicting chronic kidney failure.
A genetic test is also available to detect mutations in the "MEFV" gene. Sequencing of exons 2, 3, 5, and 10 of this gene detects an estimated 97% of all known mutations.
A specific and highly sensitive test for FMF is the "Metaraminol Provocative Test (MPT)," whereby a single 10 mg infusion of Metaraminol is administered to the patient. A positive diagnosis is made if the patient presents with a typical, albeit milder, FMF attack within 48 hours. As MPT is more specific than sensitive, it does not identify all cases of FMF. Although a positive MPT can be very useful.
CRMO/CNO is a diagnosis of exclusion. This means that other diseases must be ruled out before the diagnosis can be made. Generally, many tests are required, such as blood tests, x-rays, bone scans, MRI and often a bone biopsy.
Clinical features along with the familial tendency may be enough to make a diagnosis. Genetic testing may also be used.
Familial dysautonomia is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern, which means 2 copies of the gene in each cell are altered. If both parents are shown to be carriers by genetic testing, there is a 25% chance that the child will produce FD. Prenatal diagnosis for pregnancies at increased risk for FD by amniocentesis (for 14–17 weeks) or chorionic villus sampling (for 10–11 weeks) is possible.
Genetic testing is performed on a small sample of blood from the tested individual. The DNA is examined with a designed probe specific to the known mutations. The accuracy of the test is above 99%. Dr. Anat Blumenfeld of the Hadasah Medical center in Jerusalem identified chromosome number 9 as the responsible chromosome.
It is not known how mevalonate kinase mutations cause the febrile episodes, although it is presumed that other products of the cholesterol biosynthesis pathyway, the prenylation chains (geranylgeraniol and farnesol) might play a role.
Attacks are self-limiting, and require analgesia and NSAIDs (such as diclofenac). Colchicine, a drug otherwise mainly used in gout, decreases attack frequency in FMF patients. The exact way in which colchicine suppresses attacks is unclear. While this agent is not without side effects (such as abdominal pain and muscle pains), it may markedly improve quality of life in patients. The dosage is typically 1–2 mg a day. Development of amyloidosis is delayed with colchicine treatment. Interferon is being studied as a therapeutic modality. Some advise discontinuation of colchicine before and during pregnancy, but the data are inconsistent, and others feel it is safe to take colchicine during pregnancy.
Approximately 5–10% of FMF cases are resistant to colchicine therapy alone. In these cases, adding anakinra to the daily colchicine regimen has been successful.
The current (2008) diagnostic criteria for HLH are
1. A molecular diagnosis consistent with HLH. These include the identification of pathologic mutations of PRF1, UNC13D, or STX11.
OR
2. Fulfillment of five out of the eight criteria below:
- Fever (defined as a temperature >100.4 °F, >38 °C)
- Enlargement of the spleen
- Decreased blood cell counts affecting at least two of three lineages in the peripheral blood:
- Haemoglobin <9 g/100 ml (in infants <4 weeks: haemoglobin <10 g/100 ml) (anemia)
- Platelets <100×10/L (thrombocytopenia)
- Neutrophils <1×10/L (neutropenia
- High blood levels of triglycerides (fasting, greater than or equal to 265 mg/100 ml) and/or decreased amounts of fibrinogen in the blood (≤ 150 mg/100 ml)
- Ferritin ≥ 500 ng/ml
- Haemophagocytosis in the bone marrow, spleen or lymph nodes
- Low or absent natural killer cell activity
- Soluble CD25 (soluble IL-2 receptor) >2400 U/ml (or per local reference laboratory)
In addition, in the case of familial HLH, no evidence of malignancy should be apparent.
It should be noted that not all five out of eight criteria are required for diagnosis of HLH in adults, and a high index of suspicion is required for diagnosis as delays results in increased mortality. The diagnostic criteria were developed in pediatric populations and have not been validated for adult HLH patients. Attempts to improve diagnosis of HLH have included use of the HScore, which can be used to estimate an individual's risk of HLH.
Periodic fever syndromes (also known as autoinflammatory diseases or autoinflammatory syndromes) are a set of disorders characterized by recurrent episodes of systemic and organ-specific inflammation. Unlike autoimmune disorders such as systemic lupus erythematosus, in which the disease is caused by abnormalities of the adaptive immune system, patients with autoinflammatory diseases do not produce autoantibodies or antigen-specific T or B cells. Instead, the autoinflammatory diseases are characterized by errors in the innate immune system.
The syndromes are diverse, but tend to cause episodes of fever, joint pains, skin rashes, abdominal pains and may lead to chronic complications such as amyloidosis.
Most autoinflammatory diseases are genetic and present during childhood. The most common genetic autoinflammatory syndrome is familial Mediterranean fever, which causes short episodes of fever, abdominal pain, serositis, lasting less than 72 hours. It is caused by mutations in the MEFV gene, which codes for the protein pyrin.
Pyrin is a protein normally present in the inflammasome. The mutated pyrin protein is thought to cause inappropriate activation of the inflammasome, leading to release of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β. Most other autoinflammatory diseases also cause disease by inappropriate release of IL-1β. Thus, IL-1β has become a common therapeutic target, and medications such as anakinra, rilonacept, and canakinumab have revolutionized the treatment of autoinflammatory diseases.
However, there are some autoinflammatory diseases that are not known to have a clear genetic cause. This includes PFAPA, which is the most common autoinflammatory disease seen in children, characterized by episodes of fever, aphthous stomatitis, pharyngitis, and cervical adenitis. Other autoinflammatory diseases that do not have clear genetic causes include adult-onset Still's disease, systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis, Schnitzler syndrome, and chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis. It is likely that these diseases are multifactorial, with genes that make people susceptible to these diseases, but they require an additional environmental factor to trigger the disease.
Another example that shows that autoinflamatory conditions may not be genetic in origin is found in a report published in "Nature" which shows that diet is very important in the development of such diseases. The ingestion levels of highly saturated fats and cholesterol, (high fat diet, HFD) affects the microbiota composition of the gut. Changes in the microbiota induced by a HFD are protective against the susceptibility to develop osteomyelitis (autoimmune disease) as compared with the changes induced by a low-fat diet. The changes in the microbiome of individuals under HFD showed a reduction in "Prevotella" abundance and were accompanied by significantly reduced expression levels of pro-Interleukin-1β in distant neutrophils.
Prognosis will depend on your child's individual disease and response to treatment. It is best to discuss the prognosis with your child's pediatric rheumatologist.
The chronic inflammation present in MWS over time can lead to deafness. In addition, the prolonged inflammation can lead to deposition of proteins in the kidney, a condition known as amyloidosis.
The basic tests performed when an immunodeficiency is suspected should include a full blood count (including accurate lymphocyte and granulocyte counts) and immunoglobulin levels (the three most important types of antibodies: IgG, IgA and IgM).
Other tests are performed depending on the suspected disorder:
- Quantification of the different types of mononuclear cells in the blood (i.e. lymphocytes and monocytes): different groups of T lymphocytes (dependent on their cell surface markers, e.g. CD4+, CD8+, CD3+, TCRαβ and TCRγδ), groups of B lymphocytes (CD19, CD20, CD21 and Immunoglobulin), natural killer cells and monocytes (CD15+), as well as activation markers (HLA-DR, CD25, CD80 (B cells).
- Tests for T cell function: skin tests for delayed-type hypersensitivity, cell responses to mitogens and allogeneic cells, cytokine production by cells
- Tests for B cell function: antibodies to routine immunisations and commonly acquired infections, quantification of IgG subclasses
- Tests for phagocyte function: reduction of nitro blue tetrazolium chloride, assays of chemotaxis, bactericidal activity.
Due to the rarity of many primary immunodeficiencies, many of the above tests are highly specialised and tend to be performed in research laboratories.
Criteria for diagnosis were agreed in 1999. For instance, an antibody deficiency can be diagnosed in the presence of low immunoglobulins, recurrent infections and failure of the development of antibodies on exposure to antigens. The 1999 criteria also distinguish between "definitive", "probable" and "possible" in the diagnosis of primary immunodeficiency. "Definitive" diagnosis is made when it is likely that in 20 years, the patient has a >98% chance of the same diagnosis being made; this level of diagnosis is achievable with the detection of a genetic mutation or very specific circumstantial abnormalities. "Probable" diagnosis is made when no genetic diagnosis can be made, but the patient has all other characteristics of a particular disease; the chance of the same diagnosis being made 20 years later is estimated to be 85-97%. Finally, a "possible" diagnosis is made when the patient has only some of the characteristics of a disease are present, but not all.
Muckle–Wells syndrome (MWS), also known as urticaria-deafness-amyloidosis syndrome (UDA), is a rare autosomal dominant disease which causes sensorineural deafness and recurrent hives, and can lead to amyloidosis. Individuals with MWS often have episodic fever, chills, and joint pain. As a result, MWS is considered a type of periodic fever syndrome. MWS is caused by a defect in the CIAS1 gene which creates the protein cryopyrin. MWS is closely related to two other syndromes, familial cold urticaria and neonatal onset multisystem inflammatory disease—in fact, all three are related to mutations in the same gene and subsumed under the term cryopyrin-associated periodic syndromes (CAPS).
According to present research, PFAPA does not lead to other diseases and spontaneously resolves as the child gets older, with no long term physical effects.
However, PFAPA has been found in adults and may not spontaneously resolve.
The blood count typically shows decreased numbers of blood cells—including a decreased amount of circulating red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
The bone marrow may show hemophagocytosis.
The liver function tests are usually elevated. A low level of the protein albumin in the blood is common.
The serum C reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and ferritin level are markedly elevated. In children, a ferritin above 10000 is very sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of HLH, however, the diagnostic utility for ferritin is less for adult HLH patients.
The serum fibrinogen level is usually low and the D-dimer level is elevated.
The sphingomyelinase is elevated.
Bone marrow biopsy shows histiocytosis.
PFAPA syndrome typically resolves spontaneously. Treatment options are used to lessen the severity of episodes. Treatment is either medical or surgical.
One treatment often used is a dose of a corticosteroid at the beginning of each fever episode. A single dose usually ends the fever within several hours. However, in some children, they can cause the fever episodes to occur more frequently. Interleukin-1 inhibition appears to be effective in treating this condition.
Surgical removal of the tonsils appears to be beneficial compared to no surgery in symptom resolution and number of future episodes. The evidence to support surgery is; however, of moderate quality.
There are very few ways to test a patient for HGF. Currently, the most common way to diagnose a patient is by means of a physical evaluation. The physician can make a physical evaluation of the patient and send them to a dentist or better yet a specialist like a periodontist to evaluate signs of gingival overgrowth, quality of gingiva, inflammation, mechanical difficulties of the mouth, tooth conditions, and any sort of discomfort.
Aside from obvious physical symptoms seen in a physical evaluation, molecular tests can be run to check if there is a mutation in the SOS1 gene to confirm the diagnosis. If there is indeed a mutation in this gene coupled with the typical physical symptoms, then it is quite probable that a patient suffers from this disease. Also, looking at family history is also becoming more prominent in aiding to diagnose the patient. Otherwise, researchers are working to find new and better ways to test for the presence of HGF.
Acne treatment may require oral tetracycline antibiotics or isotretinoin. Treatments directed at tumor necrosis factor (TNF) (infliximab, etanercept) and interleukin-1 (anakinra) have shown a good response in resistant arthritis and pyoderma gangrenosum. Other traditional immunosuppressant treatments for arthritis or pyoderma gangrenosum may also be used.