Adult-onset Still's disease
Adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD) is a form of Still's disease, a rare systemic autoinflammatory disease characterized by the classic triad of fevers, joint pain, and a distinctive salmon-colored bumpy rash. The disease is considered a diagnosis of exclusion. Levels of the iron-binding protein ferritin may be extremely elevated with this disorder. AOSD may present in a similar manner to other inflammatory diseases and to autoimmune diseases, which must be ruled out before making the diagnosis.
Adult-onset Still's disease | |
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Specialty | Rheumatology |
Named after | Sir George Frederic Still |
Prognosis is usually favorable but manifestations of the disease affecting the lungs, heart, or kidneys may occasionally cause severe life-threatening complications. It is treated first with corticosteroids such as prednisone. Medications that block the action of interleukin-1, such as anakinra, can be effective treatments when standard steroid treatments are insufficient.
Obvious similarities exist with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (also known as "juvenile-onset Still's disease"), and there is some evidence that the two conditions are closely related.