Goodpasture syndrome

Goodpasture syndrome is an autoimmune disease where antibodies damage certain tissues in the lungs and kidneys. If untreated, the patient usually dies from bleeding in the lungs and kidney failure. It's cause is poorly understood, but it appears to be set off by severe irritation of the lungs or kidneys such as viral infections and kidney surgery.
The condition can easily result in permanent damage to the lungs and kidneys and even death. Once diagnosed, treatment is with steroids and plasmapheresis.
The disease is a zebra as it's very rare and presents initially with prosaic symptoms such as malaise, weight loss, fatigue, fever, and chills. The first serious symptom is usually coughing up blood. Lung symptoms usually preceded kidney symptoms such as blood in the urine.
There's no cure for the condition and dialysis may become necessary, although it's not always required.
Goodpasture syndrome at Wikipedia
Category:Autoimmune diseases