Vasculitis (angiitis) is an autoimmune disease that affects the walls of blood vessels, making them thin and permeable, which causes frequent bleeding, skin rashes and various concomitant pathologies, including kidneys, lungs, eyes, skin, mucous membranes, etc. An integrated approach to the treatment of vasculitis in Israeli clinics, combined with innovative therapeutic methods, allows Israeli rheumatologists, angiosurgeons and immunologists to achieve not only improvement of the patient’s condition and improvement of his quality of life, but also elimination the main cause of angiitis.
Risk factors
The main theory of the appearance of vasculitis is considered to be multi-etiological, i.e. a combination of several risk factors at the same time:
- chronic infectious diseases;
- previous bacterial and viral infections (for example, Staphylococcus aureus or viral hepatitis);
- drug or food allergies;
- individual vaccine intolerance.
These factors provoke the immune system to produce pathogenic immune complexes (IgA), which affect the inner membranes of blood vessels with subsequent inflammation and micro-thrombosis.
Statistically, vasculitis affects either children under 15 years old or the elderly. At the same time, boys suffer from angiitis 1.5 times more often than girls.
Symptoms of vasculitis
The clinical picture of vasculitis depends on its form.
- Simple (skin) – a specific itchy rash on the skin of the legs and buttocks. Usually these are small dots with subcutaneous hemorrhage, which eventually darken and disappear, but leave pigmented spots in their place.
- Articular – pain in large joints (knees, elbows, shoulders and pelvis).
- Abdominal – severe abdominal pain, causeless nausea and vomiting. Often, intestinal bleeding can also become a symptom of abdominal vasculitis.
- Renal – a reddish tinge of urine and a decrease in its amount.
- Rapid – a syndrome of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) with the formation of multiple blood clots in various organs. Severe bleeding may also occur.
Regardless of the form of the disease, vasculitis most often begins with an elevated temperature (38-39°C), severe fatigue and constant weakness. The disease can occur in waves with the appearance of characteristic symptoms and their temporary disappearance.
Diagnostics
- Laboratory blood tests (CBC and biochemistry). This makes it possible to diagnose blood clotting pathologies and detect the characteristic signs of inflammatory processes. To confirm or rule out inflammation, a urine test is also performed. Thanks to an immunological blood test, Israeli doctors can detect vasculitis-specific antibodies and immune complexes.
- Biopsy of blood vessel tissues. If systemic vasculitis is suspected, a biopsy of the tissues of the affected organs may also be necessary.
- Ultrasound examination (US) and Dopplerography of blood vessels and affected organs.
- Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography (CT, MRI, and PET).
- Angiography.
- Electrocardiography (ECG).
Treatment of vasculitis in Israel
- Extracorporeal therapy is the purification of blood outside the body from pathogenic agents that cause vasculitis. Israeli clinics actively use innovative methods of extracorporeal blood purification: immunosorption (selective removal of one specific component), hemosorption (purification of blood from toxins), cryoapheresis and plasmapheresis.
- Biotherapy is one of the most promising methods of treating vasculitis, which was one of the first in the world to be successfully used by Israeli doctors. Biological therapy uses drugs based on monoclonal antibodies that block certain components of the immune system.
- Drug therapy with the latest generation of drugs using the unique ‘pulse therapy’ technique. Efficiency exceeds 93%.
The combination of innovations in the treatment of rheumatoid diseases, state-of-the-art medical diagnostic equipment and highly qualified Israeli doctors with international recognition has made Israel a center of medical tourism for people suffering from vasculitis and other autoimmune pathologies from all over the world.