Is there a cure for vasculitis?

Condition analysis:
Although some of the vasculitides are self-limiting the majority cannot be cured. Research continues into the causes of vasculitis and treatments. Vasculitis is controlled by maintenance therapy.

Instructions:
Remission Maintenance therapy - Once the disease is controlled or in remission (indicated by improved symptoms and blood tests), the treatment is changed (usually after several months) and maintenance therapy is commenced. The prednisolone is usually reduced to a very low dose. If cyclophosphamide has been given it is usually stopped and changed to less toxic drugs such as azathioprine. Maintenance therapy can last for many years, but in some cases can be discontinued after one or two years. How long people with vasculitis need to remain on remission maintenance therapy is very variable and will need to be discussed on an individual basis with the medical team helping look after the patient.

Which doctors will be involved in the treatment of vasculitis depends on the type of vasculitis, the organs involved, the severity of the disease and the local practice in your area. You may need several different specialists to manage your disease working as a team. This multidisciplinary team may all be present in one clinic (a multidisciplinary or "one-stop" clinic) or may be working in several clinics in one hospital or even in different hospitals. This may require many different hospital appointments to see the different specialists and good communications between the different members of the team. Information about multidisciplinary clinics may be available from the GP, local specialists or Vasculitis UK.

The treatment given to an individual patient will depend on the type of vasculitis, the severity of the vasculitis, other medical problems the patient may have, how well they have responded to treatment so far and the evidence for the current best treatment available (see section below on clinical trials and research). This means that patients who superficially may appear to have similar disease may get significantly different treatments.