Still's disease
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
| Still's disease Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | M06.1, M08.2 |
|---|---|
| ICD-9 | 714.30 |
| DiseasesDB | 34295 12430 |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-525-6884
Associate Editor-In-Chief: Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2] Phone:617-525-7431
Please Join in Editing This Page and Apply to be an Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [3] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
Overview
Still's disease is a form of juvenile idiopathic arthritis, characterized by high spiking fevers and transient rashes, named after the English physician Sir George Frederic Still (1861-1941). The disease was first discovered in children, but now it is also known to occur, less commonly, in adults in whom it is referred to as adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) described by another english physician, Bywaters on 1971 (the same author is famous for the crush syndrome).
There are several theories about the cause of Still's disease. It has been suggested it may be caused by a microbacterial infection. However, the cause of Still's disease remains unknown. The pathogenesis of the disease is more secure to be autoimmune.
Symptoms
Patients with Still's disease usually have systemic symptoms. Usual symptoms include:
- waves of high fevers that rise to 40°C (104°F) which may be accompanied by extreme fatigue
- A faint transient non-itching salmon-colored skin rash can also be observed.
- Flu like pain throughout the body,
- muscle pain
Diagnosis
Because the disease presents in many different ways, diagnosis is difficult. It is often a laborious process consisting of the elimination of other diseases. It is diagnosed on a basis of clinical features of the illness, with the results of a number of common tests combined. Persistent arthritis (lasting at least 6 weeks) is frequently a symptom. A rash is frequently visible on the body, and the patients usually suffer from high, spiking fevers. Blood tests frequently indicate elevated white blood cell counts, suggesting there is serious inflammation. Also, low red blood cell counts (anemia) are common. Typically, elevated blood tests indicate in high sedimentation rates, an indicator of inflammation. Other indicators of inflammation may also be elevated, including CRP (c-reactive protein) and ferritin levels. However, the classic blood tests for rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus are usually negative. A new important marker of AOSD is the glycosylated ferritin: the percentage of this form of the protein is often below the 50% of the total during the flare of the disease and often during the remission phases.
Prognosis
The fever and most of the other symptoms tend to run their course within several months. However, the arthritis can become a long-term problem as a chronic illness persisting into adulthood. In addition, since the disease can present as an acute illness in adulthood, many adult patients with chronic illness from Still's Disease never show signs or symptoms of the disease in childhood, but both initially present with the disease in adulthood and may have persistence of all symptoms through some period of adulthood. The fever and systemic symptoms in these patients may go in remission, leaving arthritis symptoms. Conversely, all signs and symptoms, including arthritis and systemic signs and symptoms, may either remit completely during adulthood, present intermittently in a "flare" type pattern or, less commonly, continue indefinitely during adulthood.
External links
- AOSD Web site
- Arthritis.org
- Adult Onset Still's Disease Discussion Board
- The AOSD Message Board
- Still's disease at medicinenet.com
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
de:Juvenile idiopathische Arthritis it:Malattia di Still dell'adulto ja:成人スティル病 sv:Stills sjukdom
