Wegener's Granulomatosis (Print Version)

Wegener's granulomatosis is a rare disease. It is a type of vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels. This limits the flow of blood to important organs, causing damage. It can affect any organ, but it mainly affects the sinuses, nose, trachea (windpipe), lungs and kidneys.

The cause of Wegener's granulomatosis is unknown. Symptoms may include joint pain, weakness, tiredness and cold symptoms such as a runny nose that doesn't get better. Doctors use blood tests and chest x-rays to diagnose the disease and rule out other causes of the symptoms.

Early treatment is important. Most people improve with medicines to slow or stop the inflammation.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Start Here

Wegener's Granulomatosis(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/wegeners/

Overviews

Wegener's Granulomatosis(Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center) - http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typesof/wegeners.html
Wegener's Granulomatosis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/wegeners-granulomatosis/DS00833/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all

Diagnosis/Symptoms

Medical Procedures for Wegener's Granulomatosis(Vasculitis Foundation) - http://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/node/43

Related Issues

Remission and Flares(Vasculitis Foundation) - http://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/node/42

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Wegener Granulomatosis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Wegener+Granulomatosis%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. Case 31-2008. A... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18843125&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: HLA class I deficiency syndrome mimicking Wegener's granulomatosis. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18668571&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Clinical images: perforation of the nasal septum and palate due... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18668555&tool=MedlinePlus
Wegener's Granulomatosis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=wegener+granulomatosis[majr]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+english[la]+AND+(patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetk[text]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+3+Years&tool=MedlinePlus

Organizations

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association - http://www.aarda.org/
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
Vasculitis Foundation - http://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/

Statistics

Vasculitis Statistics(Vasculitis Foundation) - http://www.vasculitisfoundation.org/node/50

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Autoimmune Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/autoimmunediseases.html
Vasculitis - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/vasculitis.html
Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
Kidneys and Urinary System - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/kidneysandurinarysystem.html
Lungs and Breathing - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/lungsandbreathing.html

The primary NIH organization for research on Wegener's Granulomatosis is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/