Castleman's disease is a rare disease that can cause seriously damage of lymph nodes. Unfortunately, the cause of the disease is still unknown.
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Castleman's disease has been named after pathologist Benjamin Castleman who described that condition in 1956. It is also called angiofollicular hyperplasia or giant lymph node hyperplasia. There are two main types of the disease called unicentric and multicentric. It seems that there are some risk factors for the development of the disease, but those risk factors are not always present in patients.
In its unicentric forms a single lymph node has excess growth. Unicentric Castleman disease won't necessarily cause any symptoms and might evade diagnosis unless the patient has physical examination or scans that discover the presence of an enlarged node. For unicentric forms of the illness, treatment usually is removal of the lymph node that has overgrown tissue.
The symptoms of unicentric Castleman can be higher temperature, tiredness, perspiration, loss of body weight, and low iron level. However, those same symptoms may be present in the case of multicentric Castleman's disease. Patients have large lymph nodes in areas like the neck, underarms and groin, many have persistent stomach upset, and some patients have damages nerves that lead to limbs and that result in numb sensations.
Multicentric Castleman's disease tends to have more symptoms and is easier diagnosed because many lymph nodes can have excess growth. Multicentric forms of the disease are more difficult to treat and might be addressed in many ways which are usually individualized to each patient. Some treatments that can be considered include giving antiviral medications, treating with chemotherapy to arrest growth of lymph tissue, and using corticosteroids to reduce inflammation.
The bad news is that some of those medications can be very hard for the body, and that can be even more complicated when the patient has HIV virus. So, the doctor must find a fine balance between trying to treat the disease without creating additional side effects for the patient.
Patients are more likely to notice symptoms if they have other health problems. Those who have HIV or AIDS have a higher risk of developing Castleman's disease. But there are patients who don't have AIDS and get Castleman's. Another possible risk factor is infection with a type of herpes virus called HHV8. It is important to say that those are potential causal factors - they may not always be present, and the disease can occur at any time to anyone. Still, the rareness of the disease makes it extremely unlikely that most people will ever get it.
If you notice some of the symptoms - especially enlarged lymph node on the side of your neck or in your underarm, collarbone or groin area - go and see the doctor. He will perform many tests to determine diagnosis, but the gold standard is to test tissue from affected lymph nodes. If that tissue shows evidence of the disease treatment can begin. Here is important to know that because Castleman's is very rare, it can be misdiagnosed and you should ask for a second medical opinion. ■