Multicentric Reticulohistiocytosis (MR, MRH, previously also called Lipoid dermatoarthritis) is a rare disease, primarily affecting patients in their adulthood characterized by the rapid appearance of multiple papules and nodules arising in conjunction with severe arthritis. The name was first proposed in 1954 by Goltz and Laymon. MRH is very rare. The average dermatologist, rheumatologist, or orthopedist will see at most 1-2 cases in an entire career. MRH may become inactive after several years, often after about 8 years.  In about 28% of cases, the disease appears to be related to an underlying malignancy. MRH precedes the development of cancer in 73% of cases. No therapy consistently improves MRH.  The response to therapy is difficult to determine because of the rarity of the disease and the lack of controlled studies.

MRH - Multicentric Reticulo-Histiocytosis

I am a 42 year old woman who was recently diagnosed with multicentric reticulo histiocytosis (multicentric reticulohistiocytosis, MRH) - quite a mouthful - I know.  This website was created by an awesome guy (my husband) in an attempt to create a forum for people with this rare disease to communicate and share their experiences.  I am not a medical doctor - I am just a sufferer of MRH who is in search of support. 

After researching my illness, I was saddened to realize that there weren't any support groups for individuals with MRH.  I plan to join the Arthritis Foundation and have found their website to be very informative in dealing with my arthritis.  I am hoping to reach individuals who have or have had this illness (it usually "burns itself out" after 5-10 years) and/or doctor's who have treated patients with this disease.  I am thankful that it was finally diagnosed because it was quite frustrating to have so many health issues over the past six years and not to know what the cause was.  I believe that MRH is the cause of my hypothyroidism, rapid damage to my knees, wrists and fingers and abnormal breast tissue that was removed last year.  I have always believed that all of my symptoms over the years were related but was unable to prove this medically until now.  Maybe it's not important for others to receive a label for their condition, but for me, it certainly helped me to make sense of it all and to try to be active in my health care. 

If you have information that you'd like to share with me, please use the contact form to send it, or register for the discussion forum on this site!  I look forward to hearing from you!  Sincerely,

Pam