Kawasaki disease is a vasculitic syndrome of unknown cause that occurs most often during childhood. It was first reported by Dr. Tomisaku Kawasaki in 1967. If untreated, about 25% of patients develop coronary arterial sequelae; however, the development of high-dose immunoglobulin therapy has decreased the incidence of such sequelae. Still, Kawasaki disease remains the most common cause of acquired heart disease in developed countries - over 1000 patients develop coronary arterial lesions each year in Japan alone. Thus, there is an urgent need for new treatments.

In the past, administration of steroids was contraindicated in patients with Kawasaki disease. Recently, however, administration of steroids for the treatment of acute Kawasaki disease is being reevaluated. The RAISE Study is a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of the efficacy of initial immunoglobulin plus prednisolone combination therapy for patients with severe Kawasaki disease.

	RAISE is an acronym for Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess Immunoglobulin Plus Steroid Efficacy for Kawasaki Disease.

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Dr. Tsutomu Saji
Department of Pediatrics, Toho University Omori Medical Center
6-11-1 Omori-Nishi, Ota-ku, Tokyo 143-8541, Japan
Phone: +81-3-3762-4151
Fax: +81-3-3298-8217

Dr. Tohru Kobayashi
Department of Pediatrics, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine
3-39-22 Showa-cho, Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture 371-8511, Japan
Phone: +81-27-220-8205
Fax: +81-27-220-8215

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