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San Antonio teens catching mysterious illness
by Sarah Lucero / KENS 5
khou.com
Posted on May 15, 2012 at 10:44 AM
SAN ANTONIO?Athletic, active teenage girls who excel in school are not who you would expect to fall victim to a debilitating and difficult to diagnose illness. But it is happening to a group of mostly girls on the north side of San Antonio.
Most of them live along the I-10 West corridor between Camp Bullis all the way up to Boerne.
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"Primarily, these are teens between 12 to 18 or 19 years of age," said Dr. Mahendra Patel, a pediatric hematology oncologist in San Antonio.
Over the past 15 years, Patel said he has seen dozens of cases involving teenagers and autoimmune disorders.
"Autoimmune disorders, per say, are rare disorders in the pediatric population," he explained.
Autoimmune disorders are chronic illnesses that occur when the body?s immune system attacks its own organs.
"The number of cases I am diagnosing is a lot more, and incidence rates are increasing," said Patel.
He said the most common autoimmune disorder is rheumatoid arthritis. But there are others, like chronic fatigue syndrome and postural tachycardia syndrome, or POTS. This condition affects the heart rate. There are also conditions like Dysautonomia, Epstein Barr virus, Lupus and Wegener?s granulomatosis, which is an inflammation of the blood vessels that affects the nose, lungs, kidneys and other organs.
Patel said only recently have doctors begun to understand these illnesses and why they may develop in young people. They are also learning how to treat them.
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He said medical experts now know the illnesses can be traced back to an infection the teens may have had, like mono, which is a virus. But they can also be bacterial, fungal or parasitic. That?s why Patel said the best way to prevent these infections is to avoid sharing beverages or hand towels, to thoroughly clean sporting equipment, and to always wash your hands or use hand sanitizer.
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by Sarah Lucero / KENS 5
khou.com
Posted on May 15, 2012 at 10:44 AM
SAN ANTONIO?Athletic, active teenage girls who excel in school are not who you would expect to fall victim to a debilitating and difficult to diagnose illness. But it is happening to a group of mostly girls on the north side of San Antonio.
Most of them live along the I-10 West corridor between Camp Bullis all the way up to Boerne.
...
"Primarily, these are teens between 12 to 18 or 19 years of age," said Dr. Mahendra Patel, a pediatric hematology oncologist in San Antonio.
Over the past 15 years, Patel said he has seen dozens of cases involving teenagers and autoimmune disorders.
"Autoimmune disorders, per say, are rare disorders in the pediatric population," he explained.
Autoimmune disorders are chronic illnesses that occur when the body?s immune system attacks its own organs.
"The number of cases I am diagnosing is a lot more, and incidence rates are increasing," said Patel.
He said the most common autoimmune disorder is rheumatoid arthritis. But there are others, like chronic fatigue syndrome and postural tachycardia syndrome, or POTS. This condition affects the heart rate. There are also conditions like Dysautonomia, Epstein Barr virus, Lupus and Wegener?s granulomatosis, which is an inflammation of the blood vessels that affects the nose, lungs, kidneys and other organs.
Patel said only recently have doctors begun to understand these illnesses and why they may develop in young people. They are also learning how to treat them.
...
He said medical experts now know the illnesses can be traced back to an infection the teens may have had, like mono, which is a virus. But they can also be bacterial, fungal or parasitic. That?s why Patel said the best way to prevent these infections is to avoid sharing beverages or hand towels, to thoroughly clean sporting equipment, and to always wash your hands or use hand sanitizer.
...
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