An Overview of Disease and Health Research Vol. 11

Kawasaki disease is still a rare pediatric disease with a multifactorial origin and genetics. There is an overall global burden of the disease, especially in the pediatric population in Asian countries. The disease is named after a Japanese paediatrician, Tomisaku Kawasaki. Research efforts are extensive and focus on finding the cause and molecular origin of Kawasaki disease. This chapter aims to elucidate the molecular and immunological basis of a rare paediatric disease with, to date, an unknown aetiology. Kawasaki disease initially presents with characteristic clinical symptoms, followed by the development of coronary artery lesions in a small percentage of cases. Some patients develop coronary artery lesions, whereas others do not. Both mild and severe forms of the disease are observed. Current research focuses on identifying biomarkers to predict the early development of coronary artery lesions in children with Kawasaki disease. Kawasaki-like features of the disease have been described, such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) or Kawasaki-like syndrome, which do not clearly exhibit the classical clinical presentation of Kawasaki disease. In such cases, Kawasaki disease may not fully conform to its typical definition. A clear classification and a clear diagnosis of each patient are of utmost importance.