Cryopyrin Associated Periodic Syndrome (CAPS)

Cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome (CAPS) is a group of rare, heterogeneous autoinflammatory disease characterized by interleukin 1β-mediated systemic inflammation and clinical symptoms involving skin, joints, central nervous system, and eyes. It encompasses a spectrum of three clinically overlapping autoinflammatory syndromes including:

  • Familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome (FCAS, formerly termed familial cold-induced urticaria)
  • Muckle-Wells syndrome (MWS), and 
  • Neonatal-onset multisystem inflammatory disease (NOMID, also called chronic infantile neurologic cutaneous and articular syndrome or CINCA) 

All three conditions were originally thought to be distinct entities, but in fact share a single genetic mutation in NLRP3 gene and pathogenic pathway.

This is our story about being diagnosed with a variant of CAPS called Muckle-Wells Syndrome. Please visit www.canadiancapsnetwork.com to learn more