Vasculitis and long standing ankylosing spondylitis in a patient with familial Mediterranean fever.

Coexistence of familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) and other inflammatory disorders has been frequently reported, but no specific underlying factor has been identified. We report a patient with FMF who is presented with long-standing ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and cutaneous leukocytoklastic vasculitis (LV) of the lower limbs. It is the first report on combination of FMF with AS and LV. The Mediterranean Fever (MEFV) gene mutation of heterozygote (R202Q/R726A) and HLA-B27 are detected in this case, and are believed to form genetic susceptibility to LV.