Chronic granulomatous disease (cgd)

[Hina Muqadas]

Chronic granulomatous disease is a hereditary immunodeficiency disorder in which phagocytes (a type of white blood cell) malfunction.

People with chronic granulomatous disease have persistent infections of the skin, lungs, lymph nodes, mouth, nose, urinary tract, and intestine.
Doctors diagnose the disorder based on blood tests.
Treatment involves drugs to prevent infections and to reduce the number and severity of infections, as well as transfusions and stem cell transplantation.

(See also Overview of Immunodeficiency Disorders.)
Chronic granulomatous disease is a primary immunodeficiency disorder. It is usually inherited as an X-linked recessive disorder. X-linked means that the disorder is due to a mutation in a gene on the X (sex) chromosome. X-linked recessive disorders occur only in boys. Sometimes chronic granulomatous disease is inherited as an autosomal (not X-linked) recessive disorder. For autosomal recessive disorders to be inherited, two genes for the disorder, one from each parent, are required.
Normally, phagocytes (types of white blood cells, including neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and macrophages) ingest and kill microorganisms. In chronic granulomatous disease, phagocytes can ingest but cannot produce the substances (such as hydrogen peroxide and superoxide) that kill certain bacteria and fungi.