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Kawasaki Guideline Urges Treatment Intensification for Some Patients
A soon-to-be published guideline from the ACR and the Vasculitis Foundation on Kawasaki disease underscores the importance of early diagnosis and intensified treatment for people with this serious condition.1 Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) remains the treatment mainstay, and prompt, aggressive treatment may be able to reduce the risk of serious complications in some patients. The guideline…
The Mystery of IVIg
Although initially given as replacement therapy for patients with primary and secondary immunodeficiency states, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) has proven to be effective in the treatment of various autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. This success has led to a dramatic increase in the use of IVIg, with its use as an antiinflammatory agent now vastly surpassing its use in the treatment of immunodeficiencies. Even so, the basis for the antiinflammatory activity of IVIg remains unclear.
Tomisaku Kawasaki, Pediatrician Who Discovered Disease That Bears His Name, Dies at 95
Japanese pediatrician Tomisaku Kawasaki, MD, who identified an inflammatory syndrome that affects children, died on June 5 in Tokyo. He was 95. Tenacity & Attention to Detail Born Feb. 7, 1925, in Tokyo, Dr. Kawasaki graduated from medical school at what is now Chiba University in Chiba, Japan, in 1948 and worked as staff pediatrician…
Thinking Big, Thinking Small
I would like to tell you a story. Two, actually. I am just returning from the 19th International Vasculitis and ANCA Workshop, which is always a fascinating meeting. In its inception, it was a workshop, in the true sense of the word. Now, we discuss anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) testing as casually as we discuss…