Affections of the ear: Part 3. Relapsing Polychondritis

Part three of the series "affections of the ear" is about relapsing Polychondritis also known under the term Meyenburg-Altherr-Uehlinger-Syndrome or Askanazy-Syndrome. It is a rare inflammable-rheumatoid systemic affection of articular and non-articular cartilage with chondrolysis, dystrophy and atrophy. Main symptoms are auricle chondritis and nasal chondritis as well as arthralgas and arthritis. Also possible is the affection of the hyaline articular cartilage and the fibrocartilage of the intervertabral ligament. In more than 80 % of the cases the illness starts with recurring intermittent inflammations of the aurical. Remote damages are cauliflower or washcloth ears. In 50% of the cases there is also eye involvement with conjunctivitis, scleritis and iritis. Treatment of choice are systemic glucocorticoids. As alternative therapies acetylsalicylic acid, indometacine, azathioprine, colchicines, cyclosporin A or sulfones and in heavy cases also cyclophosphamide have been described.