Temporal arteritis is a disease of old age, often manifesting itself clinically with rather vague symptoms of fatigue, general malaise, and weight loss. The characteristic headache or symptoms from the temporal regions may appear late (Harrison and Bevan, 1967) or may pass unobserved. The first report of a case was given by Hutchinson (1890) in London, and series of varying numbers have since b...

CONTEXT The process of diagnosing temporal arteritis remains controversial. Although temporal artery biopsy has long been the standard tool of evaluation, its poor sensitivity has prompted investigation of other methods to aid in diagnosis. Improved clinical evaluation and various imaging techniques have been suggested as ways to establish the diagnosis through noninvasive means and to improve ...

Polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis commonly present for the first time in older people. Guidelines for diagnosis, investigation and management are available but have largely been developed by rheumatologists from studies where older people have been excluded. It is not clear whether geriatricians care for a group of patients with different clinical presentations compared to those und...

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), temporal arteritis or Horton’s arteritis, is a systemic vasculitis which involves large and medium sized vessels, especially the extracranial branches of the carotid arteries, in persons usually older than 50 years. Permanent visual loss, ischaemic strokes, and thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms are feared complications of GCA. The treatment consists of high dos...

Giant cell arteritis is often referred to in the context of polymyalgia rheumatica with temporal artery involvement. There are, however, more malignant forms of presentation of this necrotizing arteritis involving either the great vessels of the aorta or, occasionally, the pulmonary arteries. Our case relates to giant cell arteritis presenting as pulmonary artery obstruction in a patient withou...

Giant cell arteritis may lead to catastrophic, large-vessel complications from chronic vascular wall inflammation without prompt diagnosis and treatment. We describe a rare case of acute aortic dissection without preceding aneurysm secondary to histologically confirmed giant cell arteritis (GCA) in an 85-year-old female with a four-year history of polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis d...

Actinic granuloma is a rare granulomatous reaction that is more commonly seen in females and thought to occur as an autoimmune response to actinic damage of elastic tissue. We discuss a case of a patient with actinic granuloma presenting with concomitant temporal arteritis. Our case and review of the literature emphasize the association between actinic granuloma and temporal arteritis, a seriou...

BACKGROUND Temporal artery (TA) biopsy is the current standard for diagnosing temporal arteritis, but has limited sensitivity. Colour duplex ultrasonography is a newer, non-invasive method of diagnosing temporal arteritis. METHODS A systematic review was performed of trials comparing TA biopsy with duplex ultrasonography. Duplex results (halo sign, stenosis or vessel occlusion) were compared ...

1. Salvarani C, Cantini F, Boiardi L, Hunder GG. Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis. N Eng J Med 2002;347:261-71. 2. Sood R, Zulfi H, Ray R, HandaR, Wali JP. Giant cell arteritis-a rare cause of fever of unknown origin in India.. J Assoc Physc India 2002;50:846-8. 3. Calamia KT, Hunder GG. Clinical manifestations of giant cell (temporal) arteritis. Clin Rheum Dis 1980;6:389-403. 4....