Immunologic aspects of cardiovascular disease.
The spectrum of vasculitis is diverse, and numerous entities do not fit the aforementioned broad categories. Examples of these include Buerger's disease; vaso-occlusive vasculitis of the lower extremities associated with cigarette smoking; Behçet's disease, which is prevalent in the Orient and Middle East and is characterized by recurrent aphthous stomatitis, genital ulcerations, uveitis, meningoencephalitis, and phlebitis; and isolated central nervous system vasculitis, a rare disease with a poor prognosis that primarily affects intracranial arteries without a systemic acute-phase response. Improvement in the classification and definitive therapy of vasculitis awaits identification of etiologic agents and definition of host factors and the immune response responsible for the pathology.
Ledford
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D000208:Acute Disease; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000276:immunology; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000276:immunology; D012213:Rheumatic Fever / Q000276:immunology; D013625:Takayasu Arteritis; D014657:Vasculitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy