Churg-Strauss Syndrome is a type of vasculitis, which means inflammation of the blood vessels. There are a number of other, more common, diseases which also involve blood vessel inflammation; Churg-Strauss syndrome is very rare, and was only identified as a separate condition in 1951.
Although this is not a curable disease at the moment, in recent years there have been great advances in medical knowledge about the disease and its treatment. Nowadays the symptoms can be well controlled using steroids and other drugs. After initial treatment with larger doses of steroids, the disease goes into remission in about 90% of cases and from then on can be managed with monitoring and a lesser drug regime. There may be recurrences of symptoms, but these too are likely to respond to treatment.
People with Churg-Strauss Syndrome are likely to suffer from asthma, which will probably have started several years before their diagnosis. They will need to take all the precautions that asthma patients are accustomed to, and will need to carry an inhaler in case of an attack.
Like other patients taking steroids, people being treated for Churg-Strauss syndrome may experience side-effects. These can include puffiness about the face, weight gain, and increased likelihood of bruising. Some people experience mood swings; if this gets as far as depression, the treatment may need to be adjusted. As steroids affect the immune system, it will always be necessary to avoid infections such as chicken-pox. The side-effects will lessen or disappear when the steroid dose is reduced.
With the proper treatment, patients should start to feel better and be able to resume their normal life. Although the asthma is likely to continue, they should not have other troublesome symptoms, unless permanent organ damage has occurred before they were diagnosed.
Research is being carried out all the time which may help scientists find out more about the causes of this disease, and so improve its treatment. It is known to be connected to the operation of the auto-immune system, which links it to diseases such as arthritis, and this is why patients will also have the symptoms of asthma, and will probably also suffer from allergies such as hay fever. Current thinking is that it isn't an inherited disease, but may have something to do with the way genes are turned on and off. The way genes interact with the auto-immune system could be essential to understanding not just Churg-Strauss syndrome, but also the many other diseases in which the auto-immune system is involved. Research in this field has made great strides in recent years, as genes have been identified and their effects understood. It may sometime soon be possible to activate and deactivate genes medically, which would have a huge effect on the treatment of all the auto-immune diseases.
Other developments to watch out for lie in the growing field of personalised medicine, which is based on the understanding that therapies can be adapted to the individual's own biology. This is particularly relevant to auto-immune disorders, where the body's own mechanisms are involved in the problem. Perhaps the breakthrough that will produce a permanent cure will come from this direction.