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

Nine patients who have died of giant cell arteritis (GCA) are described. Two patients died of myocardial infarction caused by GCA in the coronary arteries. Another two patients died of dissecting aneurysm of the aorta where GCA were found in the lesions of the aorta wall. Giant cell arteritis causing cerebral stroke was the cause of death in five patients. None of the cases were receiving adequate corticosteroid treatment when symptoms of the ischemic catastrophies started. These cases illustrate that GCA is a generalized arteritis that can involve arteries of vital importance.
 ...
PMID:Giant cell arteritis as a cause of death. Report of nine cases. 394 32

The authors report two cases of temporal arteritis complicated with dissecting aneurysm of the aorta. The first one is discovered on systematical physical examination, the second is revealed by a thoracic pain. Clinical course is favourable under steroid therapy in both cases. Eleven cases of such complication with pathological control are reported in literature. Physiopathological mechanisms are discussed and active inflammatory involvement of aortic wall seem to be the main cause.
 ...
PMID:[Aortic dissection and Horton's disease. 2 cases]. 672 19

The symptom of vascular neck pain, known as carotidynia, refers to throbbing pain of the neck and face with tenderness of the carotid artery. Recent publications suggest that carotidynia is a benign complaint, frequently associated with migraine, and often responding to migraine therapy. Past experience, and our own, indicates that carotidynia may be a symptom of other more serious disorders whose identification is essential to prevent subsequent catastrophic complications. 7 patients discussed in this publication presented with carotidynia. 4 have been reported previously. The associated disorders were dissecting aneurysm of the internal carotid artery (2 patients), long intraluminal clots with incomplete vessel obstruction of the internal carotid artery (2 patients), spontaneous aneurysm of the common carotid bifurcation (2 patients) and giant cell arteritis. We conclude that carotidynia is a symptom to be regarded with suspicion. The majority of patients encountered will have 'benign' carotidynia and angiography or exploratory surgery should not be routine. A rational approach to evaluation, investigation and treatment is presented.
 ...
PMID:Carotidynia: aetiology, diagnosis and treatment. 734 92

We report a patient with a dissecting aortic aneurysm associated with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). The patient is a 55-year-old Japanese man without a history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus and syphilis. He was admitted to an emergency hospital because of severe back pain, and was diagnosed as having a dissecting aneurysm of the descending aorta. After the admission, he began to notice severe muscle pain in his bilateral shoulder. Although his back pain gradually improved, his muscle pain progressively worsened, and his lower extremities were also involved. Then, he was introduced to our hospital. On neurological examination, he was alert and oriented. His cranial nerves were all intact. There was no muscle weakness nor sensory disturbance. Laboratory studies revealed that his erhythrocyte sedimentation rate was extremely high without elevation of the serum level of creatine phoshpokinase, rheumatoid factors and c-reactive protein. He was diagnosed as having PMR, and oral administration of prednisolone++ was started. Within several days, his muscle pain dramatically disappeared. As is known, there is a close relationship between PMR and temporal arteritis of giant cell arteritis. In general, PMR is a benign disease and responds well to steroid therapy, and prevalence of the giant cell arteritis is low in Japanese people. However, it should be kept in mind that the dissecting aneurysm is a relevant, severe complication of PMR because arteritis can be latently present in PMR.
 ...
PMID:[The dissecting aortic aneurysm associated with polymyalgia rheumatica: a case report]. 1065 1

Giant cell arteritis as the underlying cause of blindness in the elderly is common in the West but is not seen except on rare occasions in South East Asia. We describe an 86-year-old Chinese man from Singapore who presented with a central retinal artery occlusion. Biopsy of a prominent superficial temporal artery established the underlying cause to be giant cell arteritis which was also the eventual cause of death as the condition resulted in rupture of a dissecting aneurysm of the aorta. Giant cell arteritis should be considered in all cases of ischaemic eye disease in the elderly. The importance of early diagnosis lies in the very high incidence of second eye involvement within days or at most weeks in untreated patients. A high index of suspicion is required for diagnosis of this condition which is likely under-diagnosed in our local context.
 ...
PMID:Giant cell arteritis (temporal arteritis, cranial arteritis) and a case from Singapore. 1456 Aug 64