Question: What is (are) Polyarteritis nodosa ?
Answer: Polyarteritis nodosa is a serious blood vessel disease in which medium-sized arteries become swollen and damaged. It occurs when certain immune cells attack the affected arteries preventing vital oxygen and nourishment. Signs and symptoms may include fever, fatigue, weakness, loss of appetite, weight loss, muscle and joint aches, and abdominal pain. The skin may show rashes, swelling, ulcers, and lumps. When nerve cells are involved numbness, pain, burning, and weakness may be present. Polyarteritis nodosa can cause serious health complications including strokes, seizures, and kidney failure. Treatment often includes steroids and other drugs to suppress the immune system.
Source: GARD

Question: What are the symptoms of Polyarteritis nodosa ?
Answer: What are the signs and symptoms of Polyarteritis nodosa? The Human Phenotype Ontology provides the following list of signs and symptoms for Polyarteritis nodosa. If the information is available, the table below includes how often the symptom is seen in people with this condition. You can use the MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary to look up the definitions for these medical terms. Signs and Symptoms Approximate number of patients (when available) Abdominal pain 90% Abnormal pyramidal signs 90% Abnormality of temperature regulation 90% Aneurysm 90% Arthralgia 90% Asthma 90% Cutis marmorata 90% Edema of the lower limbs 90% Hemiplegia/hemiparesis 90% Hypertensive crisis 90% Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy 90% Migraine 90% Myalgia 90% Nephropathy 90% Orchitis 90% Paresthesia 90% Polyneuropathy 90% Renal insufficiency 90% Skin rash 90% Subcutaneous hemorrhage 90% Vasculitis 90% Weight loss 90% Arrhythmia 50% Behavioral abnormality 50% Coronary artery disease 50% Gangrene 50% Gastrointestinal hemorrhage 50% Gastrointestinal infarctions 50% Leukocytosis 50% Seizures 50% Skin ulcer 50% Urticaria 50% Abnormality of extrapyramidal motor function 7.5% Abnormality of the pericardium 7.5% Abnormality of the retinal vasculature 7.5% Acrocyanosis 7.5% Arterial thrombosis 7.5% Arthritis 7.5% Ascites 7.5% Autoimmunity 7.5% Congestive heart failure 7.5% Encephalitis 7.5% Hemobilia 7.5% Inflammatory abnormality of the eye 7.5% Malabsorption 7.5% Myositis 7.5% Osteolysis 7.5% Osteomyelitis 7.5% Pancreatitis 7.5% Retinal detachment 7.5% Ureteral stenosis 7.5% The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) has collected information on how often a sign or symptom occurs in a condition. Much of this information comes from Orphanet, a European rare disease database. The frequency of a sign or symptom is usually listed as a rough estimate of the percentage of patients who have that feature. The frequency may also be listed as a fraction. The first number of the fraction is how many people had the symptom, and the second number is the total number of people who were examined in one study. For example, a frequency of 25/25 means that in a study of 25 people all patients were found to have that symptom. Because these frequencies are based on a specific study, the fractions may be different if another group of patients are examined. Sometimes, no information on frequency is available. In these cases, the sign or symptom may be rare or common.
Source: GARD

Question: What are the treatments for Polyarteritis nodosa ?
Answer: How might polyarteritis nodosa be treated? Few people with polyarteritis nodosa have mild disease that remains stable with nonaggressive therapy; because of the risk for serious health complications, aggressive therapy is often recommended. Treatment may include prednisone in divided doses. Additional therapy, such as cyclophosphamide, chlorambucil, azathioprine, methotrexate, dapsone, cyclosporine, or plasma exchange, may also be recommended. The goal of therapy is remission (to have no active disease) within 6 months or so. At this point the person may be maintained on cyclophosphamide (or other therapy) for a year, before it is tapered and withdrawn over the course of 3 to 6 months.It is very important that people undergoing treatment for polyarteritis nodosa be monitored closely for toxic effects of the drugs or for signs of worsening disease. This monitoring may involve blood counts, urinalyses, serum chemistries, and the ESR on at least monthly intervals.
Source: GARD