cryoglobulinemia

Cryoglobulinemia is the presence of high amount of heavy globulins (e.g. IgM) in the bloodstream which thicken or gel on exposure to cold. Such proteins are called cryoglobulins.

Causes

These proteins may be present in mycoplasma pneumonia, multiple myeloma, certain leukemias, primary macroglobulinemia, and some autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. This is also found occasionally as a symptom in 35% of chronic hepatitis C infections.^[1] It is important to note that these two different, yet highly representative, clinical syndromes generally reflect different types of underlying CG:

Hyperviscosity is typically associated with CG due to hematological malignancies and monoclonal immunoglobulins. "Meltzer's triad" of palpable purpura, arthralgia and myalgia is generally seen with polyclonal CGs seen in essential-, viral-, or connective tissue disease-associated CG.

References

1. ^ Pascual M, Perrin L, Giostra E, Schifferli JA. Hepatitis C virus in patients with cryoglobulinemia type II. J Infect Dis 1990;162:569-570. PMID 2115556.

See also

• Paraproteinemia
• Gammopathy

External links

• Overview at Mayo Clinic

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