User:Dylan Gordon/Marie-Strumpell Disease

Marie-Strumpell Disease

Content

1.Overview and short definition                                 p.1

2. General Symptoms and signs of As                             p.1

3. Causes of Ankylosing Spondylitis                             p.2

4. Who Are The Victims? p.2

5. Treatment                                                    p.3

6. Medication                                                   p.3

7. Surgery                                                      p.4

8. Tests and Diagnosis                                          p.4

8. References                                                   p.5

Overview:

Ankylosing Spondylitis has a number of different names that it has been called in the past such as Bechterew syndrome or Marie- Strümpell disease, this name has a fairly large story behind it in which it will be explained later on in the history content. It is a very rare disease that affects the whole body but especially the spine and different joints in the body such as the sacroilium. Since this disease is autoimmune, it happens during a person lifetime eventually causing fusion of the spine by the vertebrae’s. This particular disease is part of the spondyloarthropathies which means arthritis in the spinal area.

General Symptoms and signs of AS:

Ankylosing Spondylitis usually affects its victims at the age of 17 to 30 years old because since this disease is a genetic disease, the patients are born with it. Some develop it and some don't. There are a lot of different types of symptoms for example back problems, in this case the patient will feel stiffness at the lower parts of the spinal area and sometimes, other joints will be affected like the knees, shoulders, hips and so on. Patients of AS will also experience loss of appetite, Bowel inflammation, chronic stooping and a lot of fatigue and dizziness. Spondylitis will also show in the eye area as the patient may also have inflammations also called uveitis that will affect the iris and will make the pupils different sizes and cause redness and maybe even Photophobia which is when the eyes are sensitive to light and heard problems may also occur in time. Patients in the younger years will experience swelling and severe pains in the bigger limb joints such as the knees and hips.

The patients that are experiencing most of these symptoms and don’t know that they may have AS, should contact a physician as soon as possible.

Inheritance of Ankylosing Spondylitis:

Genetics plays the biggest role in the cause of this disease. 95% of Caucasians that has been hit with Ankylosing Spondylitis have this sex-linked gene that produce a genetic marker which is a protein in this particular case called “HLA-B27”. But, not everybody that is HLA-B27 positive has AS. To trigger Ankylosing Spondylitis, most Scientists say that it is some sort bacterial infection most likely caused by HLA-B27 because this genetic marker increases the chances of getting a bacterial infection. There are up to five or six different genes that are involved with AS.A lot of Scientist are theorising on the fact that AS starts when bacteria from the intestine breaks-out of the defence system to go thought the bloodstream right to the sacroiliac joints and its area. But overall they are still researching for other causes of Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Who Are The Victims?:

There are five main points to being an AS Patient. 1- A family history and which the patient may Inherit Ankylosing Spondylitis. 2- Getting positive for the HLA-B27 genetic marker. 3- Frequent gastro internal infections. 4- Having a lot of back problems in the spinal area. 5- People from 17 to early 30’s have a better chance of being diagnosed with AS. There is also any other forms of arthritis that should be looked at by a physician or a physiotherapist. AS will affect men more than women, it is 3 men to 1 woman.

Treatment, Medication and Surgery:

Treatment:

At the moment professionals have not found a cure for Ankylosing Spondylitis although, there are treatment medications and there is also the option of surgery. The best thing to help ease the symptoms of Ankylosing Spondylitis are Physical therapy medication and exercise it is said that to keep the spine moving relieves stiffness and prevents the fusing of the spine does not occur. Going on physiotherapy and certain medication will help the patient to reduce pains and inflammation. Take note that during pain the patient should not exercise because it would make the pain unbearable, causing more inflammations and stiffness. The key for the AS treatment is to keep moving and keeping a good posture. A lot of patients can't sit down or stand for a long period of time. Medication: Medication is also very important as to relieving pain and to reduce symptoms for the future. A lot of patients of Ankylosing Spondylitis will use Anti-inflammatory medication which reduces pain from inflammation for a period of time. Examples of commonly known and used Anti-inflammatory medications are Celebrex which has to be prescribed by a physician or other little Anti-inflammatory medications such as Advil and Ibuprofen in which the patient can simply get at a pharmacy. There are also medications that will reduce the response of the immune system through immunosuppressant. Examples of medication are Methotrexate and corticosteroids. They also use Antagonists (TNFa). It is used with certain treatments and it is also an immunosuppressant. Examples of (TNFa) are infliximab and adalimumab.

Surgery:

Surgery can also be an option for more severe cases. In this case, surgery consists of removing different joints in the body such as hips and knees and replacing them but also, surgery is available in the spine area particularly in the neck although it is not encourage because so surgeons say that it can be risky because of the area and may cause brain damage near the spinal cord and the medulla.

Tests and diagnosis:

There are two ways of getting tested or diagnosed. 1.Blood tests: This way, they can look if someone may have HLA B-27 and professionals can also see if they have certain inflammations. 2. X-rays: It allows the patient’s physician to look for changes in their joints, though the effects of AS may not be obvious early in the disease.

References:

1.	http://www.medicinenet.com/ankylosing_spondylitis/article.htm

2.	http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ankylosing-spondylitis/DS00483

3.	http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ankylosingspondylitis.html

4.	http://www.med.mun.ca/anatomyts/radioanat/radiology/ken/ankylosing_spondylitis.htm

5.	http://www.spondylitis.org/about/as.aspx

6.	http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/386639-overview

7.	http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_health_features.asp?health_feature_id=247&channel_id=10&relation_id=10867