Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T14:17:41.109Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

2 - TEMPORAL ARTERITIS

from PART I: - INFECTIOUS AND INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2010

Louis R. Caplan
Affiliation:
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston
Julien Bogousslavsky
Affiliation:
Valmont Clinique, Glion, Switzerland
Get access

Summary

Temporal (giant cell) arteritis is a systemic disease, involving various medium-sized and larger arteries, that occurs mostly in elderly patients. Blindness due to ischemic optic neuropathy is probably the most common and most feared sinister manifestation of the disease, but stroke is the leading cause of death in patients with temporal arteritis. Noninvasive angiography using computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may reveal sites of vascular stenoses. A typical finding is smoothly tapered stenotic lesions different from the abrupt, irregular stenoses of atherosclerotic disease. These modalities may be helpful in assessing the extent of disease or potentially to aid diagnosis especially in biopsy negative cases. Fludeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FD-PET) scanning may reveal uptake in the larger thoracic vessels including aorta, subclavian, and carotid arteries. The mainstay of treatment is corticosteroids, although there is much debate about the optimal dose and use of steroid sparing immunosuppressives.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×