Definition:
By definition, Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is a hereditary inflammatory disorder that specifically afflicts a groups of patients who come from in and around the Mediterranean Sea- hence the name. The disorder is also very prominently present among Armenians, Sephardi Jews and people from Turkey and some Arab countries.
Diagnosis:
Diagnosis is clinically made based on the history of typical attacks, and based on whether the patient traces his ancestry from the ethnic groups which the disease is found to be prevalent. Biological markers used for diagnosis include high C-reactive protein levels and elevated white blood cell counts. Genetic testing is also currently used.
Treatment:
Treatment, normally for the attacks include medications such analgesia and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The drug colchicines which is a medicine used gout, has been shown to effectively decrease frequency of attacks, although it does have some side effects.
Symptoms and Signs:
Symptoms come in seven forms and which are experienced by almost 90% of all patients before they reach 20 years old. Symptoms develop over 2-4 hours and can last anytime between 6 hours and 4 days. These include fever, abdominal pain, joint pain, chest attacks along with pleuritis, scrotal attacks, myalgia and Erysipeloid.
Causes:
The main cause of FMF is basically a mutation in the MEFV gene, which codes for a protein called pyrin or marenostenin.
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