Progress in rheumatology: understanding autoimmune disease.
Fifty years ago, Wegener's granulomatosis was a uniformly fatal condition; the diagnosis was usually made post-mortem. Today, many patients survive, with a 93% complete remission rate reported 4 years after diagnosis. Four medical advances over the past 50 years have enhanced our understanding and management of this rheumatologic disorder. They are a rational classification of the vasculitides, development of a diagnostically useful serologic assay, successful treatment with cyclophosphamide, and novel ideas as to etiology.
Division of Arthritis and Rheumatic Diseases, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, USA.
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RM
Bennett
D000368:Aged; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D014890:Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012698:Serologic Tests
D003520:Cyclophosphamide