Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology

Our department is developed in October, 2015. To date, clinical and research center for rheumatology was absent in Wakayama area for a long time. Now, our department physicians are dedicated to the diagnosis and management of systemic autoimmune and inflammatory disorders through coordinated programs of clinical care and clinical research focused on advancing treatment for adults with systemic rheumatic diseases.

In these conditions, abnormal immune responses such as rheumatoid factor, anti-citrullinated protein antibodies and anti-nuclear antibodies are sometimes recognized. Our physicians are very interested in clinical research regarding autoantibody testing and work closely with other specialists at Wakayama Medical University including pulmonologists, nephrologists, gastroenterologists, cardiologists, neurologists, dermatologists, surgeons, and orthopedists to provide care for patients with complex rheumatic and autoimmune diseases.

Specialized care is provided in the following disorders:

• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
• Systemic Sclerosis
• Polymyositis/Dermatomyositis
• Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
• Systemic Vasculitis
• Sjögren’s Syndrome
• Seronegative Spondyoarthropathy
• Behçet Disease
• Adult Still’s Disease
• IgG4-related disease
• Relapsing Polychondritis
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica
• Palindromic Rheumatism
• Fever of Unknown Origin
• Undifferentiated Arthritis
• Other Related Diseases
  

If you will visit our department, it is preferable for us to have a reservation of our clinic with a letter from rheumatologists or general physician in your country or Japan. Also, your health insurance should be confirmed, because you will be claimed for consultation, blood testing, and treatment fee.

Fig 1. Severe gangrene in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma overlap

Fig 2. Acute interstitial pneumonitis in a patient with dermatomyositis

Fig 3. Immune complex glomerulonephritis in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus

Fig 4. Anti-nuclear antibody detection in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases (Indirect immunofluorescence)

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