VASCULITIDES

In short ...

Vasculitides (also called vasculitis) are rare and complex diseases. They can be primary (without an identifiable cause) or secondary (caused by an infection, medication, other disease).

Vasculitis causes inflammation in the walls of blood vessels (most often arteries, but sometimes also veins). There are different vasculitis which can all be systemic (affecting several organs) or localized (1 or 2 organs).

Quick treatment is necessary in order to be able to prevent damage which can then become irreversible.

Organs most commonly affected by vasculitis include  : skin, lungs, kidneys, nose and sinuses, nervous system (nerves and sometimes brain), heart, digestive system and joints.

There are over 20 types of vasculitis, however the most common include  :

Giant cell arteritis (temporal arteritis)

Takayasu arteritis

Polyarteritis nodosa

Kawasaki arteritis

Isolated cutaneous vasculitis (leukocytoclastic vasculitis)

ANCA-associated vasculitis (AAV):

-  Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA, formerly Wegener)

-  Microscopic polyangiitis

-  Granulomatosis with polyangiitis and eosinophilia (formerly Churg-Strauss)

Vasculitis IgA (formerly Henoch-Shönlein)

Cryoglobulinemia

Anti-GBM vasculitis (also known as:  Goodpasture)

Behçet's disease

Cogan's disease

Primary vasculitis of the central nervous system

IgG4 disease

Urticarial vasculitis

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RESOURCES - READING FOR PATIENTS

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To read scientific or research articles published by the doctors of the vasculitis clinic of the Sacré-Coeur hospital in Montreal, click here.

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We are pleased to be a Quebec reference center of excellence in vasculitis, member of the Canadian network CanVasc (Canadian research group on Vasculitis). 

For more information on vasculitides, we invite you to consult the CanVasc website (French or English)  :  www.canvasc.ca

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For information brochures about your disease or your treatments, to attend classes on your disease, you can consult the website of the  Canadian Vasculitis Foundation

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