Hughes-Stovin syndrome

Hughes-Stovin syndrome is a rare variant of Behcet's disease. However, unlike Behcet's which causes symptoms throughout the body, Hughes-Stovin generally only inflames the arteries of the lungs and the body's veins. This results in weakness of the arteries, leading to multiple aneurysms in the lungs, and frequent occurrences of deep-vein thrombosis. The former problem often leads to blood being coughed up in sputum.
Left uncontrolled, the condition will eventually cause widespread bleeding in the lungs as the aneurysms burst, or pain and possible blockages from the thromboses in the veins. As such, death can be progressive from the bleeding, or quick from the clotting.
There's no cure for Hughes-Stovin, and treatment focuses on control of the symptoms. Steroids are the first drug of choice to reduce the inflammation.
Hughes-Stovin Syndrome at Wikipedia
Category:Diseases
Category:Autoimmune diseases