From the time of birth, the human infant is exposed to a myriad of microbes found on the mother and in the surrounding environment. Microbes rapidly form assemblages across exposed areas of the body, including the skin and enteral tract.…
Laboratory evidence to support the diagnosis of an infectious disease may be based on one or more of the following: direct examination of specimens using microscopic or antigen detection techniques, isolation of microorganisms in culture, serologic testing, host gene expression…
Relapsing Polychondritis Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare condition characterized by episodic chondritis causing cartilage destruction and deformation of the ears (sparing the earlobes), nose, larynx, and tracheobronchial tree. Antibodies to matrillin-1 and collagen (type II, IX and XI) are…
Musculoskeletal pain is a frequent complaint of children presenting to general pediatricians and is the most common presenting problem of children referred to pediatric rheumatology clinics. Prevalence estimates of persistent musculoskeletal pain in community samples range from 10–30%. Although diseases…
Childhood vasculitis encompasses a broad spectrum of diseases that share inflammation of the blood vessels as the central pathophysiology. The pathogenesis of the vasculitides is generally idiopathic. Some forms of vasculitis are associated with infectious agents and medications, whereas others…
Kawasaki disease (KD), formerly known as mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome and infantile polyarteritis nodosa , is an acute febrile illness of childhood seen worldwide, with the highest incidence occurring in Asian children. KD is a systemic inflammatory disorder manifesting as…
Sarcoidosis is a rare multisystem granulomatous disease of unknown etiology. The name is derived from a Greek word meaning “flesh-like condition,” in reference to the characteristic skin lesions. There appear to be 2 distinct, age-dependent patterns of disease among children…
Amyloidosis comprises a group of diseases characterized by extracellular deposition of insoluble, fibrous amyloid proteins in various body tissues. Etiology Amyloidosis is a disease caused by protein misfolding. These misfolded proteins infiltrate, aggregate, and form insoluble fibrils that can affect…
The hereditary periodic fever syndromes are a group of monogenic diseases that present with recurrent bouts of fever and associated pleural and/or peritoneal inflammation, arthritis, and various types of skin rash. A number of identifiable disorders present with recurrent episodes…
Sjögren syndrome is a chronic, inflammatory, autoimmune disease characterized by progressive lymphocytic and plasma cell infiltration of the exocrine glands, especially salivary and lacrimal, with potential for systemic manifestations. It is rare in children and predominantly affects middle-age women with…