Goodpasture syndrome can cause people to cough up blood or feel a burning sensation when urinating. But the first signs of this disease may be vague, like fatigue, nausea, dyspnea (difficult breathing), or pallor. These signs are followed by kidney involvement, represented first with small amounts of blood in the urine, protein excretion in the urine, and other clinical and laboratory findings. To diagnose Goodpasture Syndrome, doctors can now use a blood test, but a kidney biopsy may be necessary to check for the presence of the harmful antibody. Goodpasture Syndrome is treated with immuno- I was diagnosed with GPS in August of 1998. I have documented my battle with this illness so that other victims know that they are not alone and in hope that others might understand what their loved one, with this illness, is going through. This site is dedicated to those that have lost the battle with Goodpastures and for those that continue to do battle with it.
Goodpastures Syndrome is a rare disease (1 in 100,000)
that can affect the lungs and kidneys. It is an autoimmune disease, a condition in which the body's own defense system reacts against some part of the body itself. When the immune system is working normally, it creates antibodies to fight off germs. No one knows why, in Goodpasture Syndrome, the immune system makes anti-bodies that end up attacking the lungs and kidneys. A combination of factors has been implicated, and among these is the presence of an inherited component.
suppressive drugs given by mouth to keep the immune system from making anti-bodies. Corticosteroids may be given intravenously to control bleeding in the lungs. A process called plasmapheresis (PLAZ- ma-fer-REE-sis) may be helpful and necessary to filter the harmful antibodies from the blood; this is usually done in combination with the steroid treatment and chemo therapy.
