Microscopic Polyangiitis, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Microscopic Polyangiitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases
Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) is a rare disease, the result of blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis) which can injure organ systems.
The organs most often affected by MPA are the kidneys, lung, nerves, skin, and joints.
MPA has many frequent features with another type of vasculitis called granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA, formerly called Wegener's Granulomatosis), and treatment methods for these illnesses are the same.
Vasculitis indicates inflammation of the blood vessels.
When inflamed, the blood vessel wall may become weakened and balloon forming an aneurysm or become so thin that it bursts resulting in bleeding into the tissue.
Vasculitis can also produce blood vessel narrowing to the point of closing off the vessel entirely.
This can induce organs to become damaged from loss of oxygen and nutrients that were being supplied by the blood.
MPA affects small to medium-sized blood vessels, which directly indicates the type of tissue damage that is seen in this disease.
Causes:
The cause of MPA is not known.
MPA is not a form of cancer, it is not infectious, and it does not normally happen within families.
MPA is obviously a disorder that is mediated by the immune system
MPA is often linked with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), antibodies aimed against certain constituents of white blood cells
In MPA (microscopic polyangiitis), the ANCA are aimed mainly against to specific proteins: myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3).
Symptoms:
Because many different organ systems may be affected, a wide variety of symptoms and signs are possible in MPA.
Patients who have MPA may feel generally ill and tired with fever, loss of appetite and weight.
They normally have symptoms linked to involvement regions such as rashes, muscle and joint pain.
When MPA affects the lungs, the patients may have shortness of breath or coughing up of blood.
MPA affecting the nerves may induce an abnormal sensation followed by numbness or weakness.
A combination of these symptoms may happen.
Kidney disease produced by MPA often does not produce symptoms.
The inflammation of the kidney may not be obvious to the patient until the kidneys start to stop working.
Diagnosis:

Suspicion for MPA diagnosis is based on evidence taken from a range of sources, such as:
1. Medical history to look for the evidence of MPA symptoms
2. Physical examination to determine locations of organ involvement and to rule out other illnesses that may have a similar appearance
3. Blood tests to look for locations of organ involvement and testing for antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)
A positive blood test for ANCA can indicate a suspected diagnosis of MPA.
The blood test does not by itself prove the diagnosis of MPA or determine the disease action.
A tissue biopsy may be required to make the diagnosis of MPA
Treatment
Medicines that suppress the immune system are the main basis of treatment for MPA.
People with MPA are normally treated with corticosteroids combined with an immunosuppressive medicine such as cyclophosphamide or rituximab
In patients who have less serious MPA, corticosteroids and methotrexate can be given at first
If disease action can be entirely "turned off," this is called "remission."
Once it is definite that the disease is becoming better, the doctors slowly decrease the steroid dose and hope to stop it entirely.
When cyclophosphamide is given, it is only taken until the time of remission (3-6months) after which time it is changed to another immunosuppressive agent, such as methotrexate, azathioprine, or mycophenolate mofetil to maintain remission.

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Microscopic Polyangiitis
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: May 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781370694518

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Microscopic Polyangiitis,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2019 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Microscopic Polyangiitis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Microscopic Polyangiitis)

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Microscopic Polyangiitis

What is microscopic polyangiitis (MPA)?

Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) is a rare disease, the result of blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis) which can injure organ systems.

The organs most often affected by MPA are the kidneys, lung, nerves, skin, and joints.

MPA has many frequent features with another type of vasculitis called granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA, formerly called Wegener's Granulomatosis), and treatment methods for these illnesses are the same.

Vasculitis indicates inflammation of the blood vessels.

When inflamed, the blood vessel wall may become weakened and balloon forming an aneurysm or become so thin that it bursts resulting in bleeding into the tissue.

Vasculitis can also produce blood vessel narrowing to the point of closing off the vessel entirely.

This can induce organs to become damaged from loss of oxygen and nutrients that were being supplied by the blood.

MPA affects small to medium-sized blood vessels, which directly indicates the type of tissue damage that is seen in this disease.

Incidence

MPA can happen in people of all ages, from children to the elderly.

The disease mainly happens in middle-aged people

It affects men slightly more often than women.

What are the causes of microscopic polyangiitis (MPA)?

Causes:

The cause of MPA is not known.

Knowledge of a few types of vasculitides indicates how MPA affects the body.

MPA is not a form of cancer, it is not infectious, and it does not normally happen within families.

Proof