Posted on January 9, 2009 - by rdilipk1

Kawasaki Syndrome Travolta Son death

John Travolta’s 16 year old Son, Jett Travolta died a few days back. The Travolta’s said that he was suffering from a disease called as “Kawasaki Syndrome” and all of a sudden, the term has caught the headlines of every magazine and news website.
I was a bit curious to know what this disease was and hence I dug through everything that was available. The disease had strange symptoms and was not that widely spread, hence the availability of very little knowledge.

Kawasaki syndrome is also known as ‘lymph node syndrome’, ‘mucocutaneous node disease’, ‘infantile polyarteritis’ and ‘Kawasaki disease’. It is an inflammation (vasculitis) of the middle-sized arteries. It affects many organs, including the skin, mucous membranes, lymph nodes, and blood vessel walls, but the most serious effect is on the heart. It is called so, because it was first described by Tomisaku Kawasaki in 1967 in Japan.

Kawasaki Syndrome is predominantly seen in Japan though lately the disease has been diagnosed in the United States as well, This is a disease that is more commonly seen in children below the age of 5 years and too mostly in boys.

The reason or, cause of the Kawasaki disease is still unknown. But most of the theories revolve around immunological causes as the prime reason. But available evidence says that the reason could be an infection but whether the cause is a conventional antigenic substance or a superantigen is still under debate.

This disease affects the heart the most. Kawasaki disease can cause inflammation of blood vessels in the coronary arteries and subsequent dilatation of the coronary arteries. This can further lead to heart attacks even in young children.

The symptoms of the disease –
Kawasaki Syndrome begins with a high and persistent fever that does not respond to normal doses of paracetamol or, ibuprofen. The fever may persist steadily for up to two weeks and is normally accompanied by irritability. Affected children develop red eyes, red mucous membranes in the mouth, red cracked lips, a “strawberry tongue” and swollen lymph nodes. Skin rashes occur early in the disease, and peeling of the skin in the genital area, hands, and feet (especially around the nails and on the palms and soles) may occur in later phases. Some of these symptoms may come and go during the course of the illness. The following symptoms might point to Kawasaki Syndrome –

• High-grade fever (greater than 39 ?C or 102 ?F; often as high as 40 ?C or 104 ?F) that normally lasts for more than 5 days if left untreated.
• Red eyes (conjunctivitis) without pus or drainage, also known as “conjunctival injection”.
• Bright red, chapped, or cracked lips.
• Red mucous membranes in the mouth.
• Strawberry tongue, white coating on the tongue or prominent red bumps (papillae) on the back of the tongue.
• Red palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.
• Rash which may take many forms, but not vesicular (blister-like), on the trunk.
• Swollen lymph nodes (frequently only one lymph node is swollen), particularly in the neck area.
• Joint pain (arthralgia) and swelling, frequently symmetrical.
• Irritability.
• Tachycardia (rapid heart beat).
• Peeling (desquamation) palms and soles (later in the illness); peeling may begin around the nails.
• Beau’s lines (transverse grooves on nails)

If your child experiences any of the above symptom, it is advisable to take him to the doctor because Kawasaki Syndrome can only be diagnosed and treated clinically.

Read more of this disease at Wikipedia

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