Granular cell astrocytoma (GCA) is a rare type of malignant brain tumor with distinct morphologic features and aggressive clinical behavior. Almost all GCAs occur in the cerebral hemispheres. It is characterized by a prominent component of bland-looking granular cells. The tumor cells are usually positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein, S100, CD68, and epithelial membrane antigen. The most...

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) of the uterus and adnexa is extremely rare--only nine cases have been reported. We report a further case, in which the patient was found to have GCA of the myometrial arteries on routine hysterectomy. She then developed another rare manifestation of GCA, involvement of the axillary arteries causing arm claudication and chronically ischaemic hands.

OBJECTIVE To examine the influence of solar cycle and geomagnetic effects on the incidence of giant cell arteritis (GCA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS We used data from patients with GCA (1950-2004) and RA (1955-2007) obtained from population-based cohorts. Yearly trends in age-adjusted and sex-adjusted incidence were correlated with the F10.7 index (solar radiation at 10.7 cm wavele...

BACKGROUND Although disruption of guanylyl cyclase (GC) A, a natriuretic peptide receptor, induces cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, the molecular mechanism underlying these effects are not well understood. In this study, we examined the role of calcineurin, a calcium-dependent phosphatase, in cardiac remodeling in GCA-knockout (GCA-KO) mice. METHODS AND RESULTS At 14 weeks of age, calcineuri...

BACKGROUND Recent studies indicate increased risks of malignant lymphomas among individuals treated with corticosteroids, but have not taken into account the underlying reasons for steroid use, so the increased risks might be attributable to the underlying disease or concomitant treatments other than steroids. Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) and temporal arteritis (giant cell arteritis, GCA) are c...

Only two years separate the initial descriptions of polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) by Bruce in 1888 and giant cell arteritis (GCA) by Hutchinson in 1890. However, the existence of an association between these two conditions was definitely accepted only in 1964. Even if PMR is generally accepted as a different disease from GCA, some authors deem PMR to be a manifestation of a generalised arteritis...

OBJECTIVE Interferon (IFN) regulatory factors (IRF) are transcriptional mediators of IFN-induced signaling pathways and are involved in immune response. We have analyzed for the first time the association of 2 IRF5 gene variants in the susceptibility to giant cell arteritis (GCA). METHODS Two hundred twenty patients with biopsy-proven GCA and 520 matched controls were assessed. DNA from patie...