Recently, an international research team led by Xavier Rodó published a fascinating study in PNAS suggesting that Kawasaki disease is caused by an agent transported by wind from farms in Northeast China.  This agent, possibly a fungal toxin, is responsible for triggering an exuberant immune response in children, causing the typical manifestation of the disease: fevers, rash, conjunctivitis, “strawberry tongue,” enlarged lymph nodes, and swelling of the extremities.  Untreated, Kawasaki disease can cause aneurysms of the …

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During our weekly physician conference,  I discussed a patient with a suspected autoinflammatory disease.  An elderly male, he had a history of recurrent fevers, hives, and elevated inflammatory markers, which had gone untreated for many years.  Eventually, he developed renal amyloidosis, and was finally referred to rheumatology clinic for further evaluation.  Although he had many of the classic signs and symptoms of an autoinflammatory disease, his physicians had not recognized …

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