Is there an autoimmune disease that attacks cartilage?

Whatever the cause, relapsing polychondritis is thought to be an autoimmune disease – a disease where the immune system attacks healthy tissue. In this case the immune system targets the cartilage.

What disease attacks your cartilage?

General Discussion. Relapsing polychondritis is a rare degenerative disease characterized by recurrent inflammation of the cartilage in the body. Deterioration of the cartilage may affect any site of the body where cartilage is present.

What causes cartilage to become inflamed?

Polychondritis, also called relapsing polychondritis, is a rare disease in which cartilage in many areas of the body becomes inflamed. The disease most commonly affects the ears, nose and the airways of the lungs. The cause is not known, and it occurs most often in people in their 50s or 60s.

What are the symptoms of Polychondritis?

Which autoimmune disease can damage cartilage in synovial joints?

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the synovial joints leading to bone and cartilage damage. Untreated inflammatory arthritis can result in severe deformities and disability.

Autoimmune Diseases - Causes, Symptoms, Treatments

What causes cartilage to deteriorate?

Cartilage loss caused by a direct injury can result from blunt trauma to the joint. This can be from a severe car accident or even a very bad fall where the joint makes direct impact with the ground. If you're an athlete, sporting injuries are also a cause of cartilage loss.

Does lupus destroy cartilage?

Fewer than 10 percent of people with lupus arthritis will develop deformities of their hands and feet associated with weakening of cartilage and bone.

What is Winkler disease?

Winkler's disease otherwise known as chondrodermatitis nodularis chronica helices (CNHC) is characterized by a painful persistent erythematous nodule, mostly located at the rim of helix of pinna. Occurs mostly in men over 40 years of age. Standard therapy is by local excision or carbon dioxide laser vaporization.

What are two signs and symptoms of perichondritis?

A painful, swollen, red ear is the most common symptom. At first, the infection will look like a skin infection, but it quickly worsens and involves the perichondrium. The redness usually surrounds an area of injury, such as a cut or scrape. There may also be fever.

How do you test for Polychondritis?

There is no one specific test for diagnosing relapsing polychondritis. Blood tests that indicate inflammation, such as an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein, and others, are often abnormal when the disease is active.

What virus causes costochondritis?

Different types of infectious diseases can cause costochondritis, although this is uncommon. Viral: Costochondritis commonly occurs with viral respiratory infections because of the inflammation of costochondral junctions from the viral infection itself or from the strain of coughing.

What triggers costochondritis?

Causes of costochondritis

severe coughing, which strains your chest area. an injury to your chest. physical strain from repeated exercise or sudden exertion you're not used to, such as moving furniture. an infection, including respiratory tract infections and wound infections.

What causes costochondritis to flare up?

The exact cause of costochondritis in most people is unknown. But conditions that may cause it include: trauma to the chest, such as blunt impact from a car accident or fall. physical strain from activities, such as heavy lifting and strenuous exercise.

What is degenerative cartilage disease?

The degeneration of cartilage means that bones lose their cushioning. They are then vulnerable to rubbing against one another within the joint. As a result, the joint area becomes inflamed and painful, leading to a decrease in mobility. In addition, bone spurs, or pieces of bone, may form around the joint.

What disorder is defined as inflammation of the bone and cartilage?

Overview. Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis, affecting millions of people worldwide. It occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of the bones wears down over time.

Which of the following diseases is caused by direct damage to articular cartilage?

Osteoarthritis is caused by inflammation, breakdown, and the gradual and eventual loss of cartilage in the joints.

What does a cartilage infection look like?

An ear piercing is a hole through your earlobe or the cartilage in your middle or upper ear. An infected ear piercing may be red, swollen, sore, warm, itchy or tender. Sometimes the piercing oozes blood or white, yellow or greenish pus.

What is Chondritis ear?

Perichondritis and Chondritis

Perichondritis is an infection involving the skin and perichondrium of the auricular cartilage; extension of infection to the cartilage is termedchondritis. The ear canal, especially the lateral aspect, also may be involved.

What is a possible serious complication of perichondritis if untreated?

Without treatment, perichondritis can lead to "cartilage necrosis," which means the cartilage in your ear dies. This complication results when the flow of blood to the cartilage is blocked by the buildup of pus caused by the infection. Without this blood supply, the cartilage dies.

What does Chondrodermatitis look like?

The main symptom of chondrodermatitis is a small, painful red bump or lesion on the outer rim of your ear. You may also notice: Soreness when you press on the bump. Scaling and crusting of the lesion.

What does CNH look like?

Chondrodermatitis nodularis is a solitary, firm, and oval-shaped nodule, 4–6 mm in diameter, with central crust and surrounding erythema. In men, the most common site for CNH is the helix, while in women it is more often found on the antihelix.

How do I get rid of CNH?

The most common treatment for CNH used to be surgery. The surgery attempts to remove the entire nodule from the person's ear. During the excision surgery, nerves are sometimes cut to remove the painful sensations around the papule. Even after surgery, CNH may return in the same area of the ear.

What are the top 10 signs of lupus?

What does a lupus flare feel like?

During a lupus flare, you could expect to have rashes, joint pain, and possibly a new symptom, too. Some common symptoms of lupus flares include: Painful and swollen joints. Rashes.