The first description of a patient with the illness now known as microscopic polyangiitis

(MPA) appeared in the European literature in the 1920s. The concept of this disease as a
condition that is separate from polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) and other forms of vasculitis did
not begin to take root in medical thinking, however, until the late 1940s. Even today, some
confusing terms for MPA (e.g., microscopic poly arteritis nodosa rather than microscopic
poly angiitis ) persist in the medical literature. Confusion regarding the proper nomenclature
of this disease led to references to microscopic polyarteritis nodosa and hypersensitivity
vasculitis for many years. In 1994, The Chapel Hill Consensus Conference recognized MPA
as its own entity, distinguishing it in a classification scheme clearly from PAN, Wegeners
Granulomatosis (WG), cutaneous leukocytoclastic angiitis (CLA), and other diseases with
which MPA has been confused with through the years.
Much of the explanation for the difficulty in separating MPA from other forms of vasculitis
has stemmed from the numerous areas of overlap of MPA with other diseases. MPA, PAN,
WG, CLA, the Churg-Strauss syndrome, and other disorders all share a variety of features but
possess sufficient differences as to justify separate classifications.

Who gets Microscopic Polyangiitis? A typical patient

MPA can affect individuals from all ethnic backgrounds and any age group. In the United
States, the typical MPA patient is a middle-aged white male or female, but many exceptions
to this exist. The disease may occur in people of all ages, both genders, and all ethnic
backgrounds.

Classic symptoms of Microscopic Polyangiitis

Many signs and symptoms are associated with MPA. This disease can affect many of the
bodys organ systems including (but not limited to) the kidneys, nervous system (particularly
the peripheral nerves, as opposed to the brain or spinal cord), skin, and lungs. In addition,
generalized symptoms such as fever and weight loss are very common.
The FIVE most common clinical manifestations of MPA are:
1. Kidney inflammation (~ 80% of patients).
2. Weight loss (> 70%).
3. Skin lesions (> 60%).
4. Nerve damage (60%).
5. Fevers (55%).

Kidney Inflammation
Inflammation in the kidneys, known as glomerulonephritis, causes blood and protein loss
through the urine. This process can occur either slowly or very rapidly in the course of the

disease. Patients with kidney inflammation may experience fatigue, shortness of breath, and
swelling of the legs.
The image below is from a urinalysis of a patient with kidney inflammation. When MPA is
active, red blood cells will form a clump or cast (bracketed in white) within the tubules of
inflamed kidneys. These casts pass through the renal system and may be viewed under the
microscope in a patients urine.

Constitutional Symptoms
Weight loss, fevers, fatigue, and malaise are part of a collection of complaints regarded as
constitutional symptoms. Constitutional complaints are a common finding in patients with
MPA, because the disorder is a systemic disease confining itself generally not to one specific
organ system but rather broadly affecting a patients constitution.

Skin lesions
Skin lesions in MPA, as in other forms of vasculitis that involve the skin, can erupt on various
areas of the body. The lesions tend to favor the dependent areas of the body, specifically the
feet, lower legs and, in bed-ridden patients, the buttocks. The skin findings of cutaneous MPA
include purplish bumps and spots pictured below (palpable purpura).

These areas range in size from several millimeters in diameter to coalescent lesions that are
even larger. Skin findings in MPA may also include small flesh-colored bumps (papules);
small-to-medium sized blisters (vesiculobullous lesions); or as small areas of bleeding under
the nails that look like splinters (pictured below), hence the name splinter hemorrhages.

Peripheral nervous system

Damage to peripheral nerves (i.e., nerves to the hands and feet, arms and legs) results from
inflammation of the blood vessels that supply the nerves with nutrients. Inflammation in these
blood vessels deprives the nerves of their nutrients, leading to nerve infarction (tissue death).
Multiple nerve involvement that is characteristic of vasculitis is known as mononeuritis
multiplex. This condition is frequently associated with wrist or foot drop: the inability to
extend the hand backwards at the wrist or to flex the foot upward toward the head at the
ankle joint. If the condition is caused by nerve deterioration associated with vasculitis,
unfortunately, surgery is not a treatment option due to the nerve infarcton (tissue death).
Neurologic symptoms resulting from peripheral nerve damage may also include numbness or
tingling in the arm, hand, leg, or foot. Over time, muscle wasting (pictured below) that is
secondary to the nerve damage may result from damage caused by vasculitis.

Pictured:
The hand on the left (the patients right hand) is normal, displaying normal muscle bulk of the
areas between the fingers. In contrast, the hand on the right (the patients left) shows wasting
of the muscle in the web space between the thumb and first finger, leading to a hollowed-out,
bowl-like appearance of that area. The consequence of this muscle wasting is that the patient
is unable to grasp objects between his thumb and fingers (i.e., has a weak pinch) and his hand
grip is weak.
Lungs
Lung involvement can be a dramatic and life-threatening manifestation of MPA. When lung
disease takes the form alveolar hemorrhage bleeding from the small capillaries that are in
contact with the lungs microscopic air sacs the condition may quickly pose a threat to the
patients respiratory status (and therefore to the patients life). Alveolar hemorrhage (pictured
below), which is frequently heralded by the coughing up of blood, occurs in approximately
12% of patients with MPA .

Another common lung manifestation of MPA is the development of non-specific

inflammatory infiltrates, identifiable on chext x-rays or computed tomography (CT scans) of
the lung.

Eyes, Muscles, and Joints

Organs that also merit mention in discussions of MPA include the eyes, muscles, and joints.
Intermittent irritation of the eye (resembling pinkeye) that is caused by either conjunctivitis
or episcleritis may be an early disease manifestation or a sign of a disease flare. Occasionally
other types of inflammation (e.g., uveitis) are also observed in MPA. Muscle or joint pains
(known to clinicians as myalgias or arthralgias, respectively) are common complaints in
MPA, generally accompanying the types of constitutional symptoms mentioned above.
Arthritis (inflammation of the joints accompanied by swelling) can also be observed in MPA.
Joint complaints in MPA and related forms of vasculitis tend to migrate from one joint to
another one day involving the left ankle, the next day the right wrist, the third day a
shoulder, for example.

Forms of vasculitis similar to Microscopic Polyangiitis

The similarities and differences between MPA, WG, and PAN are highlighted in the table
below.

BLOOD VESSEL SIZE

BLOOD VESSEL TYPE

GRANULOMATOUS
INFLAMMATION
LUNG SYMPTOMS
GLOMERULONEPHRITIS
RENAL HYPERTENSION
MONONEURITIS MULTIPLEX
SKIN LESIONS
GI SYMPTOMS
EYE SYMPTOMS
ANCA-POSITIVITY
CONSTITUTIONALSYMPTOMS
NECROTIZING TISSUE
MICROANEURYSMS

MPA
Small to Medium
Arterioles to
venules, And
sometimes Arteries
and veins
NO

WG
Small to Medium
Arterioles to venules,
And sometimes
Arteries and veins

PAN
Medium
Muscular
Arteries

YES

NO

YES1
YES
NO
COMMON
YES2
NO
YES4
75%
YES5
YES
RARELY

YES1
YES
NO
OCCASIONAL
YES2
NO
YES4
65-90%
YES5
YES
RARELY

NO
NO
YES
COMMON
YES2
YES3
NO
NO
YES5
YES
TYPICAL

Pulmonary capillaritis in MPA and nodules or cavitary lesions in WG

MPA can have small blood vessel skin lesions as mentioned above, similar to WG or
medium blood vessel lesions similar to PAN (livedo reticularis, nodules, ulcers, and digital
gangrene)
3

Stomach pain after meals

MPA eye complications are typically milder than those of WG, but serious

ocular problems including necrotizing scleritis can occur

5

Constitutional symptoms include weight loss, fevers, joint and muscle aches, and malaise.

What Causes Microscopic Polyangiitis?

The cause of MPA is not known. However, enough is known about a few types of vasculitides
that allow us to describe in general terms how MPA affects the body. MPA is clearly a
disorder that is mediated by the immune system; the precise events leading to the immune
system dysfunction (hyperactivity), however, remain unclear. Many elements of the immune
system are involved in this process: neutrophils, macrophages, T and B lymphocytes,
antibodies, and many, many others.
Because MPA is often associated with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA),
antibodies directed against certain constituents of white blood cells (WBCs), the disease is
often termed an ANCA-associated vasculitis, or AAV. ANCA, discovered in 1982, act
against certain specific (and naturally occurring) enzymes in the body residing within the
neutrophils and the macrophages, all of which are members of the WBC family. The result of
the interactions of ANCA with their target proteins is an increase in the destruction of WBCs
at the sites of disease and the release of white blood cell enzymes within blood vessel walls,
causing the damage to blood vessels. In MPA, the ANCA are directed generally against to
specific proteins: myeloperoxidase (MPO) and proteinase 3 (PR3).

How is Microscopic Polyangiitis diagnosed?

Blood is taken to detect any ANCA levels, if MPA is suspected. In addition, an erythrocyte
sedimentation rate (ESR or sed rate) and C-reactive protein (CRP) are usually ordered.
Both of these tests are elevated in many different types of inflammation and are not specific
to MPA or any particular disease. The ESR and CRP, known as acute phase reactants, are
often sensitive indicators of the presence of active disease. In and of themselves, however,
elevations in acute phase reactants are not sufficient to justify additional treatment.
A carefully analyzed urine specimen should be obtained at the initial visit (and every followup visit!) to maintain vigilance for either the development or the progression of kidney
involvement.
A computed tomography (CT) scan of the chest may also be performed to detect the presence
of lung involvement. A tissue biopsy may be needed to make the diagnosis of MPA, and is
taken from an organ that seems to be involved at the time. Sometimes an
electromyography/nerve conduction (EMG/NCV) study may need to be done to identify a
site for biopsy or to detect findings consistent with a mononeuritis multiplex (see classic
symptoms section above). Tissues that might be biopsied are kidney, skin, nerve, muscle, and
lung.

Pictured: a biopsy of the gastrocnemius muscle, performed in a 69 yearold man with

microscopic polyangiitis. A blood vessel within the muscle shows an intense inflammatory
infiltrate with destruction of the blood vessel wall, confirming the diagnosis of vasculitis.

Treatment and Course of Microscopic Polyangiitis

A steroid (usually prednisone) in combination with a cytotoxic agent [usually starting with
cyclophosphamide (CYC)] is typically the first combination of medications to be prescribed.
Prednisone is usually taken every day along with CYC. Both of these medications are
administered generally in tablet form in MPA (prednisone only comes in a tablet
formulation). After control of the disease usually around 4 6 months of treatment CYC
is then typically switched to azathioprine (AZA) or methotrexate (MTX). Prednisone is
usually discontinued after approximately 6 months. (For information on these medications,
please see our Treatments pages.)
The medications used to treat MPA (individually and collectively) lower patients resistance
to infections. One infection in particular, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), is a major
potential hazard in patients treated with combinations of steroids and cytotoxic agents.
Consequently, at the start of treatment, all patients should be started on an a specific type of
antibiotic. For patients who are not allergic to sulfa medications, we generally prescribe one
single-strength tablet daily of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim or Septra ).
Patients who are allergic to sulfa medications may receive Dapsone 100-mg once daily
instead. Also, patients who are at risk for or who already have osteoporosis will typically be
started on a daily calcium supplement, Vitamin D, and possibly another agent (e.g., a
bisphosphonate such as alendronate) designed to strengthen bones.