Breakthrough in the treatment of Kawasaki disease

Scientists at the University of Western Australia have reached a breakthrough to help diagnose and better Kawasaki disease by discovering certain genes that make children vulnerable to this potentially fatal disease.

Kawasaki disease is difficult to diagnose because it is easily confused with measles or scarlet fever.

The team, led by Professor David Burgner, studied nearly 900 cases of Kawasaki disease worldwide and identified genes that could make some children more susceptible to the disease.

According to Professor Burgner, Kawasaki disease is difficult to diagnose because it is easy to confuse measles or other infections such as scarlet fever or even meningitis. Therefore, this is a mysterious disease but very dangerous for children.

He said that like many other diseases, genes play an important role in deciding who actually will develop Kawasaki disease when they are exposed to pathogens.

In fact, Japanese children who move to the US, which has relatively low rates of Kawasaki disease, are at a high risk for their disease when they live in Japan.

In addition, siblings of children with Kawasaki disease are about 10 times more likely to develop this disease than the general community. Professor Burgner said the finding is the first important step in understanding the disease.

"We will develop a test method that pediatricians are desperately needing to diagnose Kawasaki disease," he said.

We need better treatment because our best treatment actually fails to prevent heart damage at a rate of 5-10%.

In the future, we can make a vaccine to prevent Kawasaki disease and thereby reduce the risk of heart attack and similar complications. "

Kawasaki disease, named after a Japanese professor who discovered the disease first, often occurs in children from six months to four years old with symptoms such as fever, rash, swollen limbs , exfoliate.

The disease also swells blood vessels and can cause temporary damage to the heart. About 200 cases of this dangerous disease are detected each year in Australia.