The Polyarteritis Nodosa (PAN) Research and Support Network

The Polyarteritis Nodosa (PAN) Research and Support Network
www.pansupport.org

The PAN Research and Support Network is a not-for-profit
organization dedicated to providing educational and
scientific information to doctors and patients. Following
the death of his mother from PAN in 1998, Edward Becker
created a website to promote education about the disease
and a forum for PAN patients/doctors to share ideas. A
mailing list and a weekly Internet chat provide this
valuable service.

The mailing list currently has 382 PAN patients, doctors and
researchers from all over the world.

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PAN is a multisystem disease that may present with fever,
sweats, weight loss, and severe muscle and joint
aches/pains. PAN may develop in a subacute fashion, over
several weeks or months. Patients may have nonspecific
complaints such as fever, malaise, weight loss, anorexia,
and abdominal pain. The disease can affect nearly any site
in the body, but it has a predisposition for organs such as
the skin, kidney, nerves, and gastrointestinal tract. Many
patients with PAN have high blood pressure and elevated
erythrocyte sedimentation rates (ESR). The presentation of
PAN may also include skin abnormalities (rash, ulcers) and
peripheral neuropathy (pain, the sensations of burning,
tingling, or numbness, or weakness in a hand or foot). MORE:
http://vasculitis.med.jhu.edu/typeso...arteritis.html