What are the symptoms of Familial Mediterranean fever ?
What are the signs and symptoms of Familial Mediterranean fever? Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is characterized by relatively short, usually 1- to 3-day, episodes of fever accompanied by abdominal pain, chest pain, joint pain, pelvic pain, muscle aches, and/or a skin rash. The muscle pain is often confused with fibromyalgia and the joint pain is sometimes confused with gout. The pain symptoms are usually the result of inflammation in the lining of the abdomen, lungs, joints, heart, pelvis, and/or in the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. Headaches and amyloidosis may also occur. The majority of people with FMF experience their first episode by age 20. The frequency of such attacks is highly variable and the interval between attacks ranges from days to years. The frequency and symptoms experienced during an attack may also change over time. People tend to be symptom-free between attacks. The Human Phenotype Ontology provides the following list of signs and symptoms for Familial Mediterranean fever. If the information is available, the table below includes how often the symptom is seen in people with this condition. You can use the MedlinePlus Medical Dictionary to look up the definitions for these medical terms. Signs and Symptoms Approximate number of patients (when available) Abdominal pain 90% Abnormality of temperature regulation 90% Arthralgia 90% Constipation 90% Myalgia 90% Nausea and vomiting 90% Abnormality of the oral cavity 50% Abnormality of the pleura 50% Chest pain 50% Diarrhea 50% Erysipelas 50% Proteinuria 50% Seizures 50% Abnormality of the pericardium 7.5% Acute hepatic failure 7.5% Arrhythmia 7.5% Ascites 7.5% Coronary artery disease 7.5% Edema of the lower limbs 7.5% Gastrointestinal infarctions 7.5% Intestinal obstruction 7.5% Lymphadenopathy 7.5% Malabsorption 7.5% Meningitis 7.5% Nephrocalcinosis 7.5% Nephropathy 7.5% Nephrotic syndrome 7.5% Orchitis 7.5% Osteoarthritis 7.5% Pancreatitis 7.5% Skin rash 7.5% Splenomegaly 7.5% Vasculitis 7.5% Arthritis - Autosomal recessive inheritance - Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate - Episodic fever - Hepatomegaly - Leukocytosis - Pericarditis - Peritonitis - Pleuritis - Renal amyloidosis - Renal insufficiency - The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) has collected information on how often a sign or symptom occurs in a condition. Much of this information comes from Orphanet, a European rare disease database. The frequency of a sign or symptom is usually listed as a rough estimate of the percentage of patients who have that feature. The frequency may also be listed as a fraction. The first number of the fraction is how many people had the symptom, and the second number is the total number of people who were examined in one study. For example, a frequency of 25/25 means that in a study of 25 people all patients were found to have that symptom. Because these frequencies are based on a specific study, the fractions may be different if another group of patients are examined. Sometimes, no information on frequency is available. In these cases, the sign or symptom may be rare or common.