The most serious associated conditions generally involve the kidneys and gastrointestinal tract. A fatal course usually involves gastrointestinal bleeding, infection, myocardial infarction, and/or kidney failure.In case of remission, about 60% experience relapse within five years. In cases caused by hepatitis B virus, however, recurrence rate is only around 6%. Epidemiology
The condition affects adults more frequently than children and males more frequently than females. Most cases occur between the ages of 40 and 60. Polyarteritis nodosa is more common in people with hepatitis B infection. History
The medical eponyms Kussmaul disease or Kussmaul-Maier disease reflect the seminal description of the disease in the medical literature by Adolph Kussmaul and Rudolf Robert Maier. Culture
In the 1956 American film Bigger Than Life, the protagonist character played by James Mason is diagnosed with polyarteritis nodosa after experiencing excruciating chest pain and is treated with cortisone. References


== External links ==
Edex can refer to several institutions:

EDEX, education and career guidance project. Edex Live, a newspaper
Prostaglandin E1, medication