OBJECTIVES Although several causes of recurrent pericarditis have been identified, the etiology remains obscure in most cases. The tumour necrosis factor receptor-1 associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS) is the most common autosomal dominant autoinflammatory disorder and is caused by mutations in the TNFRSF1A gene encoding the 55-kD receptor for tumour necrosis factor-(TNF)-alpha. Serosal membran...

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive disease of unknown etiology and has no known diagnostic markers. Periodic attacks of pain and fever can be precipitated by dietary fat or dairy products and by the same factors that are known to elevate serum free fatty acids (FFA). Several tests related to lipid metabolism were made on the serum and urine of a fraternal twin with FMF...

An epidemic of pneumonia with fibrinous polyserositis and multifocal arthritis emerged in captive American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in Florida, United States, in 1995. Mycoplasma alligatoris sp. nov. was cultured from multiple organs, peripheral blood, synovial fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid of affected alligators. In a subsequent experimental inoculation study, the Henle-Koch-Ev...

SLE is the commonest connective tissue disease encountered in clinical practice. It is a multisystem disorder which can involve the skin, mucous membranes, joints, lungs, kidneys, central and/or peripheral nervous system, heart, and the gastrointestinal system. Constitutional features of fever, fatigue, anorexia and weight loss are common. Lupus should be suspected in the following clinical set...

Introduction Autoinflammatory diseases are a group of disorders characterized by seemingly unprovoked inflammation in the absence of high-titer autoantibodies or antigen-specific T-cells. Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the archetypal hereditary periodic fever syndrome and autoinflammatory disorder. It is characterized by recurrent selflimiting episodes of fever and painful polyserositis....

It is a very important significance to explore the bacterial typing methods rapidly, accurately and understand the genetic relation between isolates for controlling effectively the disease and preventing the dissemination and diffusion of the pathogen. The changes in the genetic material nucleotide sequences result in variation and evolution of bacteria, the development of molecular biology and...

A familial periodic fever syndromes were described and identified in the latter half of the twentieth century, there have been descriptions of periodic fever since antiquity. In this short historical study, these milestones are briefly described starting with Galen and ending with the characterisation of the Mediterranean FeVer (MEFV) gene towards the end of the twentieth century, and the eluci...