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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
Ashton Kutcher had a difficult time in 2022. At the start of the year, he looks back on the disease that affected him last summer, vasculitis. What is vasculitis? How is she treated? The answers of Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo.
2022 has been a tough year for Ashton Kutcher. The actor, currently starring in the film “Me at home and vice versa” broadcast on Netflix for a few days, admits having had to fight against a serious illness, vasculitis. He explained that he was affected by a form of the disease “strange and super rare” which had “destroy [sa] vision, stunned [son] hearing“.
What are vasculitis?
“Systemic vasculitides are a group of diseases linked to inflammation of the walls of the body’s blood vessels. This can affect small or larger vessels and therefore different organs of the body“explains Dr Gérald Kierzek.
“These systemic vasculitides are more or less serious, depending on the more or less significant narrowing of the caliber of the vessels affected. This leads to inflammation of the tissues, a reduction in vascularization and a lack of oxygen for the affected territories.” adds the doctor. Vasculitis can be secondary associated with different diseases (infectious, allergic, drug-induced, neoplastic, etc.) such as Kawasaki diseaseFor example.
When the damage is serious, the affected areas may be the site of destruction, necrosis, which potentially leaves sequelae. In this case, we speak of “necrotizing vasculitis”, a therapeutic emergency.
What are the causes ?
Vasculitides are most of the time of autoimmune origin, but the precise causes are not always known. A genetic cause, environmental factors or even hepatitis C infection are suspected. “There are often several intricate diseases, which lead to damage to different organs: the eyes, the skin, etc..” further specifies the doctor.
What are the treatments ?
Vasculitides are diseases that progress in flare-ups. “Cortisone is therefore often given as a symptomatic treatment and each type of vasculitis will be treated according to its location” details Dr. Kierzek. The search for new treatments focuses on monoclonal antibodies, immunosuppressants “but beware, as they increase the risk of infections by suppressing the immune system”and biotherapies, “more targeted“, according to Gerald Kierzek.
In any case, “thehe management of these patients must be done by internists, to try to regulate the symptoms of these vasculitis as well as possible, which return cyclically“Concludes Gérald Kierzek.