BACKGROUND In the UK, general practitioners (GPs) are usually the first medical contact for patients with suspected giant cell arteritis (GCA). While rare, it is critical not to miss, as delayed treatment can lead to significant complications including permanent visual loss. To date, little is known about the approach and challenges to diagnosis and management of GCA by GPs. OBJECTIVE To inve...

PURPOSE Currently, giant cell arteritis (GCA) is primarily treated with corticosteroids or immunomodulating agents, but there is interest in identifying other noncorticosteroid alternatives. Similarities exist in the injury pathways between GCA and atherosclerosis. Angiotensin II is a vasoactive peptide involved in vessel inflammation during atherosclerosis, and angiotensin II receptor inhibito...

To determine the incidence of permanent visual loss (PVL) in giant cell arteritis (GCA) and the GCA relapse rate during glucocorticoid (GC) tapering.This prospective, longitudinal single secondary/tertiary rheumatology centre study was conducted between September 2011 and September 2014 in Slovenia. Predetermined clinical and laboratory tests were performed at 12, 24, 48, 96, and 144 weeks afte...

We had introduced the massively parallel global cellular automata (GCA) model. Parallel algorithms derived from applications can be mapped straight forward onto this model. In this model a cell in the cell field is dynamically connected (access pattern, dynamic neighbourhood) to other cells. The model can be implemented by pointers stored in the cell state. Via these pointers, each cell has rea...

PURPOSE To examine whether herpes zoster antigen (also called varicella-zoster virus antigen) was detectable in temporal artery biopsies taken from individuals with giant cell arteritis (GCA). DESIGN Retrospective comparative case series. METHODS Sections of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded temporal arteries were examined first by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining to establish the diagnosis ...

OBJECTIVES Inflammatory cytokines are implicated in the pathogenesis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). In this study we have examined the potential association of a CA repeat polymorphism in the first intron of the interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) gene with disease susceptibility and clinical expression of these conditions. METHODS Seventy-nine patients with isolated...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Two recent genome-wide association studies have identified a shared susceptibility variation PLCE1 rs2274223 for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric cardia adenocarcinomas (GCA). Subsequent case-control studies have reported this association in other populations. However, the findings were controversial and the effect remains undetermined. Our aim is t...

Objective Previous studies, although inconclusive, have suggested possible associations of environmental risk factors with the development of giant cell arteritis (GCA). We aim to investigate seasonal influence on the incidence of GCA across Australia and New Zealand. Methods In establishing an international study to investigate the molecular aetiology of GCA, archived temporal artery biopsy ...

OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate the expression and significance of p57kip2 and cyclinD1 in gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (GCA). p57kip2 is a negative regulator in the cell cycle. On the contrary, cyclinD1 is a positive regulator of cell cycle progression. METHODS Thirty-two cases of GCA tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues were collected for this study. Immunohistochemistry and...