Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0039483 (giant cell arteritis)
 3,204 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

IgG anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) were found in a patient with Takayasu's arteritis and then in 11 of 22 patients with temporal arteritis (TA) studied prospectively. In comparison IgG aCL were found in only one of 18 elderly controls with rheumatoid arthritis and one of 47 healthy elderly controls. In TA IgG aCL were more frequent in those with acute disease (8/12), in those with an accompanying history of polymyalgia rheumatica (9/13), p less than 0.05); and levels normalized with corticosteroid treatment. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (c-ANCA) were present in one patient with TA who had no systemic disease.
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PMID:Anticardiolipin and antineutrophil antibodies in giant cell arteritis. 186 39

A 64 years old woman was admitted for persistent dry cough. The cough was lasting for one month and was associated with throat clearing, asthenia and low fever mainly at night. A thorough anamnesis also revealed the existence of mild occipital headache. Empirical antibiotic therapy (clarithromycine) had previously been administered without any clinical improvement. Physical examination was normal. However, the blood tests showed an inflammatory syndrome. The diagnostic approach was focused on the lungs, sinuses and digestive tract and did not show any acute disease. The bronchoscopy demonstrated an edematous bronchial mucosa without endoluminal lesion. The results of bacteriological tests performed were negative. Given the age of the patient and the persistence of an inflammatory syndrome of unknown origin, the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis should be excluded, despite an unusual clinical presentation. This hypothesis was supported by a diagnostic biopsy of the right temporal artery, which histological analysis showed characteristic pattern.
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PMID:[Case report: chronic cough]. 2289 90

Vasculitis is characterized by a circumferential vessel-wall thickening ('halo'), which can be visualized by modern imaging techniques. In particular, the resolution of ultrasound has increased to 0.1 mm. Ultrasound detects abnormalities that are pathognomonic even in arteries with a diameter below 1 mm. It is particularly helpful in the diagnosis of large-vessel vasculitides, such as classic temporal arteritis, large-vessel giant-cell arteritis (GCA), Takayasu arteritis and idiopathic aortitis. Echocardiography is important for determining cardiac involvement in Takayasu arteritis and also for examining the coronary arteries of children with suspected Kawasaki disease, which is a medium-vessel vasculitis. In small vessel vasculitides ultrasound has only a role for determining the distribution or organ involvement. Fast-track clinics for the diagnosis of GCA help to initiate treatment before complications such as blindness occur; patients receive appointments within 24 h in these clinics. Clinical examination and ultrasound of temporal and axillary arteries are performed by an experienced rheumatologist. In most cases this is able to determine if GCA is present. Temporal artery biopsy can be still carried out in ambivalent cases. The wall swelling of temporal arteries disappears after 2-3 weeks of glucocorticoid treatment. After 3 days of treatment, diagnosis becomes more difficult with ultrasound in some cases. In larger arteries, such as the axillary arteries, wall thickening disappears within months. It tends to be darker (more hypoechoic) in acute disease because of oedema.
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PMID:Role of ultrasound in the understanding and management of vasculitis. 2468 4