Overview

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a disorder marked by blood vessel inflammation. This inflammation can restrict blood flow to vital organs and tissues, sometimes permanently damaging them. This condition is also known as eosinophilic granulomatosis (gran-u-low-muh-TOE-sis) with polyangiitis (pol-e-an-jee-I-tis).

Asthma is the most common sign of Churg-Strauss syndrome. The disorder can also cause a variety of other problems, such as hay fever, rash, gastrointestinal bleeding, and pain and numbness in your hands and feet.

Churg-Strauss syndrome is rare and has no cure. But your doctor can usually help you control symptoms with steroids and other powerful immunosuppressant drugs.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Symptoms

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a highly variable illness. Some people have only mild symptoms. Others experience severe or life-threatening complications.

Churg-Strauss syndrome has three stages, or phases, each with its own signs and symptoms. Not everyone develops all three phases. Nor do the phases always arise in the same order. This is especially true when the disease is caught and treated before the most serious damage occurs.

Allergic stage

This is usually the first stage of Churg-Strauss syndrome. It's marked by a number of allergic reactions, including:

• Asthma. The primary sign of Churg-Strauss syndrome, asthma develops on average three to nine years before other signs and symptoms appear. In people with Churg-Strauss syndrome who already have asthma, symptoms usually become worse and may require steroids for control.

  Other people develop what is known as late-onset asthma. Developing asthma, even later in life, doesn't necessarily mean that you have Churg-Strauss syndrome.

• Hay fever (allergic rhinitis). This affects the mucous membranes of your nose, causing a runny nose, sneezing and itching.
• Sinus pain and inflammation (sinusitis). You may experience facial pain and develop nasal polyps, which are soft, noncancerous (benign) growths that develop as a result of chronic inflammation.

Eosinophilic stage

An eosinophil is a type of white blood cell that helps your immune system fight certain infections. Normally, eosinophils make up only a small percentage of white blood cells. In people with Churg-Strauss syndrome, abnormally high numbers of these cells (hypereosinophilia) are found in the blood or tissues, where they can cause serious damage.

Signs and symptoms of hypereosinophilia depend on which part of your body is affected. Your lungs and digestive tract — including your stomach and esophagus — are involved most often.

Signs and symptoms of the hypereosinophilia phase may include:

• Fever
• Loss of appetite and weight loss
• Night sweats
• Joint pain
• Asthma
• Fatigue
• Cough
• Abdominal pain and gastrointestinal bleeding

Vasculitic stage

The hallmark of this stage of Churg-Strauss syndrome is severe blood vessel inflammation (vasculitis). By narrowing blood vessels, inflammation reduces blood flow to vital organs and tissues throughout your body, including your skin, heart, peripheral nervous system, muscles, bones and digestive tract. Occasionally, your kidneys also may be affected.

Depending on which organs are affected, you may experience:

• Weakness, fatigue or a general feeling of being unwell
• Unintended weight loss
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Rash or skin sores
• Joint aches and swelling
• Severe pain, numbness and tingling in your hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy)
• Severe abdominal pain
• Diarrhea, nausea and vomiting
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea) from asthma or congestive heart failure
• Cough
• Chest pain
• Irregular heartbeat
• Blood in your urine (hematuria)

When to see a doctor

See your doctor anytime you develop signs and symptoms such as breathing difficulties or a runny nose that doesn't go away, especially if it's accompanied by persistent facial pain. Also see your doctor if you have asthma or hay fever that suddenly worsens.

Churg-Strauss syndrome is rare, and it's more likely that these symptoms have some other cause. But it's important that your doctor evaluate them. When the condition is diagnosed and treated early, it's more like that you'll have a good outcome and a reduced risk of complications from the disease and its treatment.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Causes

The exact cause of Churg-Strauss syndrome is unknown. It's likely that an overactive immune system response is triggered by a combination of genes and environmental factors, such as allergens or certain medications. Instead of simply protecting against invading organisms such as bacteria and viruses, the immune system overreacts and targets healthy tissue, causing widespread inflammation.

Some people have developed Churg-Strauss syndrome after using an asthma and allergy medication called montelukast or after switching from low-dose oral systemic steroids to inhaled steroid medications. But no clear connection between Churg-Strauss syndrome and any medication has been proved.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Diagnosis

No specific test can confirm Churg-Strauss syndrome. And signs and symptoms are similar to those of other diseases, so it can be difficult to diagnose. To help make diagnosis easier, the American College of Rheumatology has established criteria for identifying Churg-Strauss syndrome.

The 6 criteria

The disease is generally considered to be present if a person has four of the six criteria, but your doctor may feel confident diagnosing Churg-Strauss syndrome even if you meet only two or three of the criteria, which include:

• Asthma. Most people diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome have chronic, often severe asthma.
• Higher than normal count of a type of white blood cells called eosinophils (eosinophilia). Eosinophils normally make up 1 to 3 percent of white blood cells. A count higher than 10 percent is considered abnormally high and a strong indicator of Churg-Strauss syndrome.
• Damage to one or more nerve groups (mononeuropathy or polyneuropathy). Most people with Churg-Strauss syndrome have a type of nerve damage called peripheral neuropathy, which causes numbness or pain in your hands and feet.
• Migratory spots or lesions on a chest X-ray (pulmonary infiltrates). These lesions typically move from one place to another or come and go. On chest X-rays, the lesions mimic pneumonia.
• Sinus problems. A history of acute or chronic sinusitis is common in people with Churg-Strauss syndrome.
• White blood cells present outside your blood vessels (extravascular eosinophils). Your doctor may order a tissue biopsy of either your skin or a removed nasal polyp. A biopsy of a person with Churg-Strauss syndrome may show the presence of eosinophils outside of a blood vessel.

To help determine whether you meet any of these criteria, your doctor is likely to request several tests, including:

• Blood tests. When your immune system attacks your body's own cells, as happens in Churg-Strauss syndrome, it forms proteins called autoantibodies.

  A blood test can detect certain autoantibodies in your blood that can suggest, but not confirm, a diagnosis of Churg-Strauss syndrome. It can also measure the level of eosinophils, although an increased number of these cells may be caused by other diseases, including asthma.

• Imaging tests. X-rays, computerized tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) look for abnormalities in your lungs and sinuses.
• Biopsy of affected tissue. If other tests suggest Churg-Strauss syndrome, you may have a small sample of tissue (biopsy) removed for examination under a microscope. The doctor may remove tissue from your lungs or another organ, such as skin or muscle, to confirm or rule out the presence of vasculitis.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Complications

Churg-Strauss syndrome can affect many organs, including your lungs, skin, gastrointestinal system, kidneys, muscles, joints and heart. Without treatment, the disease may be fatal. Complications depend on the organs involved and may include:

• Peripheral nerve damage. Peripheral nerves extend throughout your body, connecting your organs, glands, muscles, and skin with your spinal cord and brain. Churg-Strauss syndrome can damage the nerves in your hands and feet (peripheral neuropathy), leading to numbness, burning and loss of function.
• Skin scarring. The inflammation may cause sores to develop that can leave scars.
• Heart disease. Heart-related complications of Churg-Strauss syndrome include inflammation of the membrane surrounding your heart (pericarditis), inflammation of the muscular layer of your heart wall (myocarditis), heart attack and heart failure.
• Kidney (renal) damage. If Churg-Strauss syndrome affects your kidneys, you may develop glomerulonephritis. This is a kidney disease that hampers your kidneys' filtering ability, leading to a buildup of waste products in your bloodstream (uremia). Kidney failure is uncommon.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Long-term treatment with prednisone can cause a number of side effects. You can minimize these problems by taking the following steps:

• Protect your bones. Ask your doctor how much vitamin D and calcium you need in your diet, and discuss whether you need to take any supplements.
• Exercise. Exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight, which is important when you're taking corticosteroid medications that can cause weight gain. Strength training and weight-bearing exercises such as walking and jogging also help improve bone health.
• Stop smoking. This is one of the most significant things you can do for your overall health. By itself, smoking causes serious health problems. It also makes problems you already have worse and can increase the side effects of medications you're taking.
• Adopt a healthy diet. Steroids can cause high blood sugar levels and, eventually, type 2 diabetes. It helps to include in your diet foods that help keep blood sugar stable, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

• Keep doctor appointments. During therapy for Churg-Strauss syndrome, your doctor will monitor you closely for side effects. This will likely include regular bone scans, eye exams, and tests for blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. If caught in time, it's possible to reverse many of the side effects resulting from steroid use.

  He or she will also look for signs of Churg-Strauss syndrome affecting new organs (relapse).

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Coping and support

Churg-Strauss syndrome is a serious disease. Even when it's in remission, you may worry about the possibility of recurrence or about long-term damage to your heart, lungs and nerves. Here are some suggestions for coping with the disease:

• Educate yourself about Churg-Strauss syndrome. The more you know, the better prepared you may be to deal with complications or recurrences. Besides talking to your doctor, you may want to talk to a counselor or medical social worker. Or you may find it helpful to talk to other people with Churg-Strauss syndrome.
• Maintain a support system. Family and friends can help tremendously. But sometimes you may find it especially helpful to talk with others who with Churg-Strauss syndrome. Your doctor or a medical social worker may be able to put you in touch with a support group.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com

Risk factors

Possible risk factors for Churg-Strauss syndrome include:

• Age. On average, people with Churg-Strauss syndrome are diagnosed between 30 and 50 years of age.
• History of asthma or nasal problems. Most people diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome have a history of nasal allergies, chronic sinusitis or asthma, which is often severe or hard to control.

Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com