Thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO), or Buerger's disease, is a vascular occlusive disease associated with cigarette smoking. It typically affects medium sized vessels of extremities. Basic pathology of TAO is described to be endothelial activation with highly inflammatory intraluminal thrombosis preserving internal elastic membrane. Cryoglobulins are immunoglobulins that precipitate in the cold a...

OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence of TT virus (TMV) infection in a series of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, with or without benign (mixed cryoglobulinemia) or malignant (B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL)) lymphoproliferative disease. METHODS Sixty-six HCV patients were studied, including patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia (n=30), B-NHL (n=15), and no mixed cryog...

Cryoglobulinemia is a form of vasculitis causing inflammation the blood vessels due to aggregated proteins that clump together at cold temperatures, damage skin, muscles, nerves, and other organs. An elderly black female presented with superficial ulceration overlying eschar within areas retiform purpura her bilateral thighs present for 8 months. She was previously diagnosed vaso-occlusive dise...

An adult man presented severely ill with vasculitis of his lower extremities and with impaired kidney function. After detailed evaluation at a local hospital, a diagnosis of essential type III cryoglobulinemia was made. High-dose steroid and cyclophosphamide therapy was begun. The patient improved dramatically. However, 6 wk later when his steroid dose was reduced to 30 mg daily, vasculitis rec...

Cryoglobulinemia is an uncommon condition typically due to hepatitis C infection. Its clinical presentation is varied and often reflects deposition of immune complex and complement deposition. Renal compromise is observed in approximately one third of patients with mixed cryoglobulinemia and reports of concomitant pulmonary involvement are quite rare. We report a case of a patient who presented...

Type I cryoglobulinemia, a condition associated with lymphoproliferative disorders, is caused by monoclonal immunoglobulins that precipitate at low temperatures. It mostly involves the skin and pathology study shows no signs of vasculitis. Management is usually based on immunosuppressive drugs associated with plasmapheresis for severe disease. The use of rituximab has recently been described fo...

Type II cryoglobulinemia is sometimes observed in patients with HCV infection. It is also well known that some cases with membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) possess cryoglobulinemia, which can induce neuropathy. We treated a 73-year-old woman with hepatitis C virus (HCV) who was admitted to our department because of proteinuria. She was diagnosed as MPGN according to renal biopsy. ...