A group of rare autosomal dominant diseases, commonly characterized by atypical urticaria (hives) with systemic symptoms that develop into end-organ damage. the atypical hives do not involve t-cell or autoantibody. cryopyrin-associated periodic syndrome includes three previously distinct disorders: familial cold autoinflammatory syndrome; muckle-wells syndrome; and cinca syndrome, that are now considered to represent a disease continuum, all caused by nlrp3 protein mutations.