Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) are closely related disorders found in older patients, and vasculitis has been proposed as a part of the pathogenesis of PMR. We describe a female patient with PMR plus aortitis, both of which were well controlled on maintenance steroid therapy. Six months ...

Takayasu's arteritis is a disease of unknown etiology with a constellation of clinical findings primarily resulting from stenotic lesions on the aorta and its branches. Although aneurysmal degeneration is observed frequently in patients with Takayasu's arteritis, non-aneurysmal spontaneous aortic rupture is extremely rare. We report a case of endovascular stent ...

A 52-year-old woman with Takayasu aortitis had undergone coronary artery bypass grafting and left subclavian artery reconstruction two years before admission to the Kinki University Medical Hospital (Osaka, Japan). On this admission, marked annuloaortic ectasia with severe aortic regurgitation was noted on echocardiography and aortography. Because of refractory heart failure, ...

OBJECTIVE: With the recent interest in superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass for hemodynamic related ischemia, we performed an anatomic study to find the best possible craniotomy site that will allow finding a suitable recipient cortical artery without compromising the use of the best branch and/or segment of the ...

BACKGROUND: Research on the accuracy and precision of noninvasive methods of measuring body temperature is equivocal. OBJECTIVES: To determine accuracy and precision of oral, ear-based, temporal artery, and axillary temperature measurements compared with pulmonary artery temperature. METHODS: Repeated-measures design conducted for 6 months. Sequential temperature measurements on the same side ...

Temporal arteritis is a form of systemic vasculitis that involves branches of the carotid artery. Clinical features are headache, visual loss, ophthalmoplegia, jaw claudication, temporal headache, with tenderness and thickening on the affected temporal artery. We present 3 cases of tongue necrosis due to this granulomatous arteritis. Ischemic necrosis of ...

In the case of patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA), they consult a doctor for the first time when they have a slight fever, shoulder pain, chest pain, back pain, or headache, or when they are pointed out to have high CRP or anemia by chance in medical check-up. In TA, ...

PURPOSE: Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a non-specific, chronic, inflammatory panarteritis, affecting the aorta, its major branches and pulmonary arteries. The percutaneous or surgical revascularization in these patients is often difficult and challenging because of diffuse and multi-vessel involvement, difficulty in management of disease activity, and high rate of restenosis and ...

A 45-year-old female was presented with progressive dyspnea and bilateral leg edema. Pulmonary angiography revealed total occlusion of the right pulmonary artery and significant stenosis of the left pulmonary artery. The inferior lobar artery as well as the segmental arteries were well patent. No pathology was detected elsewhere at the ...

Temporal or giant cell arteritis is the most common vasculitis affecting the temporal artery. We encountered an unusual case of involvement of the temporal artery, which showed marked proliferating capillaries admixed with a dense infiltrate of eosinophils affecting all layers of the vessel. It was concluded that these changes were ...

Takayasu arteritis is a rare, large-vessel vasculitis in which the nonspecific systemic inflammatory symptoms are followed by inflammation of the aorta and its major branches. The inflammation of this vessel leads to progressive luminal stenosis or aneurysm formation resulting in limb or organ ischemia. Although conventional angiography is still accepted ...

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a chronic inflammatory disease involving the aorta and its principal branches, leading to narrowing and occlusion of the vessels. Since the clinical manifestations depend on the location and severity of the lesions, stroke may be the initial presentation of the disease. Here we report the case ...

Giant cell arteritis increases the risk of developing a thoracic aortic aneurysm. Thoracic aortic aneurysm repair in octogenarians carries a profound increase in postoperative morbidity and mortality. We report the successful repair of an ascending aortic aneurysm in an 83-year-old woman with a history of treatment for temporal arteritis and ...

We report a case of a ruptured aortic arch aneurysm due to Takayasu arteritis concomitant with entero-Behçet disease. A 53-year-old woman with total left lung atelectasis underwent emergency total aortic arch replacement with a modified Bentall operation and elephant trunk procedure. The postoperative course was highly eventful. A pseudoaneurysm of ...

The term polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) presently includes classic systemic PAN, cutaneous PAN, and microscopic PAN (microscopic polyangeiitis). Cutaneous PAN involves the deep dermis and the panniculus, with anatomopathological findings diagnostic for arteritis. The most frequent clinical manifestation of cutaneous PAN is the presence of nodules on the lower legs, which ...

Coronary involvement may appear in up to a third of patients with Takayasu's arteritis. This affliction may have a dominant impact on the clinical manifestations of the patient. Occlusion of the ostia of the left main coronary artery and of proximal segments of the coronary arteries is the most frequent ...

OBJECTIVE: Although the luminal changes of Takayasu arteritis are well depicted with conventional angiography, its mural changes can be best evaluated with spiral computed tomography (CT) angiography. Here, the authors investigated the patterns of aortic involvement in Takayasu arteritis by using CT angiography. METHODS: CT angiography was performed from the ...

Inflammatory or noninfectious aortitis may be idiopathic or it may be part of a systemic autoimmune disease, such as Takayasu's arteritis, Behçet's disease, or giant cell arteritis. At the acute stage, there is thickening of the aortic wall with dilatation of the aorta, more commonly in the thoracic aorta. If ...

Arteritis and mycotic aneurysms have been well described for more than 100 years. The authors report a case of bacterial arteritis that presented with pneumatosis of the aortic wall and that evolved over 1 week into an infected abdominal aortic aneurysm. This case documents the rapid progression from arteritis to ...

Landau-Kleffner syndrome (LKS) is a childhood disorder of unknown etiology characterized by an acquired aphasia and epilepsy. We have performed comprehensive neurofunctional studies on an 8-year-old girl with typical LKS, with the aim of identifying lesions that may be responsible for her condition. 18F-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission computed tomography (PET), ...

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis affects vessels of various diameters in various tissues or organs, sometimes associated with neurological complications. A 77-year-old man developed dysphagia, hoarseness, dysgeusia, gait unsteadiness, and right temporalgia; neurological examination revealed multiple cranial neuropathies. Laboratory studies demonstrated severe inflammatory responses, elevation of perinuclear ANCA, and mild ...

We report a case of giant cell arteritis involving the aorta and several large arteries identified by integrated positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) obtained in a patient with a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). A 63-year-old man with anemia and a high ESR noted on a regular medical examination ...

Giant cell arteritis is a relatively common form of systemic vasculitis, best known for its predisposition to affect the extracranial branches of the carotid artery and associated potential for visual loss. Additional vascular manifestations include stroke, aortic aneurysm or dissection, and even aortic rupture. Cardiac manifestations include coronary artery disease, ...

We herein report a case with an aneurysm of the right sinus of Valsalva, which developed 14 years after an aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic regurgitation caused by Takayasu arteritis. The aortic wall around the right coronary artery ostium showed calcification, as a result, the modified Bentall procedure and ...

We report the case of a 23-year-old woman who initially presented with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) limited to the lungs, diagnosed on the basis of a biopsy of an upper left lobe nodule and elevated ANCA titers. Remission occurred under treatment with methylprednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulins. Later in the course of ...

Inflammatory vasculitis of the central nervous system is exceedingly rare in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The symptoms may be misleading. Most of the reported cases occurred in males with long-standing, nodular, destructive, rheumatoid factor-positive disease. Severe constitutional symptoms and prominent extraarticular manifestations of vasculitis were usually present. We report ...

Primary chronic headaches of long duration include chronic migraine, chronic tension-type headache, new daily persistent headache, and hemicrania continua. This article reviews the utility of neuroimaging and other testing for diagnosis of these headaches. The presentation and diagnosis of the many secondary headaches that can mimic primary headache types are ...

OBJECTIVE: To study the epidemiology of biopsy-proven giant-cell arteritis (GCA) in an Arab population with clinical features suggestive of GCA. METHODS: Clinical records of 102 patients who underwent temporal artery biopsy (TAB) at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from January 1983 to December 2004 were reviewed. RESULTS: ...

Retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF) is a clinical entity characterized by the progressive proliferation of connective tissue that rarely forms a mass involving the periaortic area of the abdomen, which may be idiopathic as well as a result of an inflammatory process after aneurysmal dilatation of the aorta. This fibrotic tissue may ...

An increasing number of rheumatologists have access to ultrasound equipment that provide both color and power Doppler modes, which can be used to investigate musculoskeletal and vascular pathologies. Musculoskeletal Doppler ultrasonography can be used to estimate levels of inflammation, to document the anti-inflammatory effect of agents such as corticosteroids and ...

Numerous reports have discussed the use of the temporal fascia in reconstructive surgery, an issue mandating a detailed study of the anatomy of this structure and its vasculature. The material of the present study consisted of 44 specimens, obtained from two stillbirths and 20 embalmed cadavers after injecting the external ...

Polyarteritis nodosa, as a diagnosis, has been progressively narrowed from a collection of ill-defined vasculitides to its current definition as a systemic transmural necrotizing vasculitis that usually affects medium-sized muscular arteries and sometimes small muscular arteries, commonly within the kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, skin, nerves, joints, and muscles. In this review, ...

We describe a case of giant cell arteritis (GCA) of the female genital tract. Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) and CT-scan showed evidence of large-vessel vasculitis involving the thoracic aorta and its branches, while temporal artery biopsy showed arteritis despite the absence of clinical manifestations suggestive of GCA. We ...

Takayasu's arteritis is a chronic vasculitis of unknown aetiology involving the aorta and its main branches, the pulmonary and coronary tree. Women are affected more often than men (80 to 90% of the cases) with an age onset between 10 and 40 years. This case report demonstrates the limitations of ...

Takayasu's arteritis causes various arterial changes, including wall thickening, occlusion, aneurysm, and calcification. Similarly, Leriche's syndrome causes occlusion of the abdominal aorta or iliac arteries accompanied by ischemic symptoms of the distal lower extremities. Both diseases are potentially associated with the development of unexpected collateral arteries throughout the body. We ...

Giant cell, or temporal, arteritis is a vasculitis of the medium and large arteries that preferentially involves vessels originating from the arch of the aorta. Classically, this disease manifests in an older individual with new-onset persistent headache, an abnormal temporal artery on examination, and increased serum inflammatory markers. The level ...

We report herein the case of a 23 year old woman who was referred to Mulago National Referral and Faculty of Medicine Makerere University Teaching Hospital because of sudden collapse, left sided weakness and headache for management. The patient underwent a battery of investigations but died five days after admission. ...

Coronary artery disease is rare in patients with Takayasu's arteritis or Behcet's disease. We report the case of a patient with concomitant Takayasu's arteritis and Behcet's disease who had angina pectoris develop due to severe narrowing of the left main coronary artery. The patient underwent revascularization with saphenous vein grafts ...

Takayasu arteritis (TA), a primary arteritis of unknown cause, commonly affects the aorta and its main branches. Most patients with TA have stenotic or occlusive changes; aneurysmal degeneration is relatively rare, and renal artery aneurysms are extremely rare. We observed a fusiform, 7-cm renal artery aneurysm in a 57-year-old man ...

BACKGROUND: We report a case of an adult with MMD who presented initially with left visual field defect that had suddenly progressed to bilateral cortical blindness 1 year and 9 months later. CASE DESCRIPTION: A 33-year-old male presented with visual blurring and mild right hemiparesis that developed suddenly. He was ...

Only 2 comprehensive surgical series, published in 1977 and 1983, have evaluated clinicopathologic features of the ascending aorta. Retrospective review of medical records and microscopic slides was performed on 513 consecutive patients with surgical resection of ascending aortic tissue (1985 to 1999). Patients were 2 to 89 years old (mean ...

Scalp necrosis in patients presenting with clinical features suggestive of giant cell arteritis is rare. The immediate concern is that temporal artery biopsy might further compromise scalp circulation. We report a case of extensive scalp necrosis caused by giant cell arteritis. Temporal artery biopsy performed after 14 days was not ...

BACKGROUND: Although the degree of contraction of temporal artery biopsy specimens after formalin fixation has been previously reported to range from 6% to 13%, the degree of contraction before fixation has not been previously studied. The aim of this study was to quantify the postexcision (prefixation) contraction of temporal artery ...

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most common systemic vasculitis in the elderly in Western countries. Anemia and very high erythrocyte sedimentation rates are associated with lower incidence of severe ischemic events. Temporal artery biopsy is the gold standard in the diagnosis of GCA. A threshold size of 1 cm ...

Tissues from 9 Göttingen minipigs, aged 7 weeks to 1 year, with clinically diagnosed thrombocytopenic purpura syndrome were examined microscopically. All pigs had a history of spontaneous cutaneous purpura that was generally accompanied by disseminated visceral hemorrhages. Hematologic abnormalities included anemia (8 out of 9 pigs) and thrombocytopenia (7 out ...

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a granulomatous vasculitis of medium and large arteries, which most often presents as pulseless disease due to widespread arterial stenoses. Only the minority of TA patients have aortic valve insufficiency, which is due to aortic root dilatation following aortitis and aneurysm formation. No other cardiac valve ...

OBJECTIVES: To define the relationship of the anterior ethmoid artery to the frontal recess and secondly whether the degree of pneumatisation of the suprabullar recess/supraorbital cell correlates with the distance between the anterior ethmoid artery and the skull base thus making it more vulnerable to damage during surgery. METHOD: Thirty-four ...

We present 3 cases with abnormal accumulation of FDG in the aortic wall. Their clinical manifestations were vague or asymptomatic, and laboratory data were consistent with inflammatory reaction. These 3 patients were diagnosed with Takayasu arteritis, inflammatory aortic aneurysm (IAA), and retroperitoneal fibrosis (RF), respectively. FDG-PET and CT images showed ...

Temporal arteritis, particularly in its classic form, is exceedingly rare in individuals <50 years old. We report the youngest case of biopsy-proven giant cell temporal arteritis. A 17-year-old male presented with a progressively expanding and pulsatile but otherwise asymptomatic mass in his forehead. The patient's medical history was significant for ...

BACKGROUND: Temporal arteritis is a very serious form of vasculitis. Early treatment is essential to avoid blindness. Surgical biopsy of the temporal artery is the gold standard for the diagnosis, but facial nerve injuries may occur. OBJECTIVE: To describe a simple and safe procedure for temporal artery biopsy. METHODS: Case ...