Hi Dr. I Am From China, And My Brother Have

Posted on Wed, 27 Nov 2019

Question: Hi Dr. I am from China, and my brother have just been diagnosed as a patient with ASS(anti synthetase syndrome) with ILD(interstitial lung disease), now the whole family is very concerned about his health condition. and also we are very confused about this rare disease. So would you pls kindly explain this disease to me? Is this some kind of disease like high blood pressure which can be contained with medicine and the patient can live a normal life, or is this some serious disease with a short life expectency? and the major question is, about how long will he live with all the medical care he need? Thanks a lot

Answered by Dr. Divya Agarwal (6 hours later)

Brief Answer:
its a serious disease

Detailed Answer:
hi,
this is an autoimmune condition which causes, arthritis, skin rashes, ILD and sometimes myositis.
It may not be as benign as hypertension, however with drugs we may be able to control it.
However he will need to be in constant touch with his rheumatologist.
despite medication the disease may sometimes not be controlled and some amount of damage in lungs or joints may persist.so definitely there is a lot of morbidity associated with this, and sometimes increased risk of infections also.life expectancy may also be shortened depending on extent of disease esp ILD.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Divya Agarwal (22 hours later)

Hi I have written a letter to ask more questions, but I am not sure if you got it. So by definiton,is ASS a fatal disease or a chronic disease? which one is better? and I have read a report by a Dr.Oyvind Palm from Oslo on the Internet. In his 2007 report,he said 90% of the patients with ASS can survive the first 3 years, and then the situation will get worse and only half of them can survive 10 years. Is this data in his report credible?or is it already obsolete? It has been 12 years since his report, so there must be a lot of improvments in the treatment to ASS, right? and Pls give me suggestions on his daily life dietary requirments and also pls tell me is it better for him to carry out physical exercises or not? Since there is already a lung situation and joint pain which can make the physical exercises a lot harder. Thanks again for you patience and best regards.

Answered by Dr. Divya Agarwal (35 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
as below

Detailed Answer:
hi
this is a chronic disease.
the report that you have read still holds true, there has been some improvement in the treatment of this condition however the morbidity is still high.
there is no particular dietary requirement, and physical exercises must still be performed, in order to improve the disease overall.
so as i stated the disease can be controlled to some extent, but the mortality is still high,the 10 year survival is around 70% in some studies.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng

Answered by Dr. Divya Agarwal (53 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
as below

Detailed Answer:
hi
yes definitely with all that you have stated and the right treatment he should do just fine.
best of luck and best wishes

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Divya Agarwal (10 minutes later)

Thanks a lot for you answer. and as I know,the patient will take a lot medicine in the treatment, will the treatment affect the life badly? Will the patient be able to live a normal life as others or his life will be so affected that he will not be able to work or do anything? Since in this case,the patient is so young,he is just 38. With the right treatment and physical exercises and a healthy way of living, is there a big chance that he can still be able to live a good life after 10 years? I am just so worried, he is so young, and I pray to God that he can still live a wonderful life and see his child grow up.You know, he is so loved by everyone around him and he is such a brilliant scientist with such a promising life ahead.