This article describes the case of a 68-year-old patient suffering from giant cell arteritis (also known as Horton's arteritis or temporal arteritis). The patient came to our attention due to a large and sudden visual loss caused by the occlusion of major retinal arteries. The patient had neuralgic pain in the face. The next day, for a thorough examination, the patient went to the day hospital ...

A choroidal melanoma was clinically suspected in one eye of an 84-year-old farmer. At the time of the first examination the patient refused the studies necessary for a certain diagnosis as well as any treatment. Later, when the eye suddenly became blind and painful, it was enucleated. Pathological study revealed necrosis of all ocular contents, but the presence of a choroidal melanoma could sti...

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) or temporal arteritis is the most frequent systemic vasculitis in our area, and its incidence may be on the increase in the last years. GCA involves large and medium-sized vessels, with preference to the extracranial arteries, and it affects persons older than 50 years. The aetiopathogenesis is unknown, although several infectious agents may be implicated. A normal te...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the elastic properties of the ascending aorta in untreated patients with giant cell arteritis compared with age and sex matched normal controls. METHODS Distensibility of the ascending aorta and aortic strain were measured in 22 patients with a recent diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (documented by a positive temporal artery biopsy) before initiation corticosteroid t...

Giant cell arteritis is a form of vasculitis involving the medium- and large-sized arteries that chiefly affects older people. Clinical findings are headache, jaw claudication, fever, pain, and thickening of the temporal artery. The most feared complication is visual loss due to impairment of the ophthalmic artery and posterior ciliary arteries. This a case report of an 85-year-old male present...

PURPOSE To report an unusual presentation of giant cell arteritis, referred from primary care, mimicking orbital apex syndrome. CASE REPORT A 72 year old woman was referred with a two week history of pyrexia, dull right eye ache, 2mm of right proptosis, mild conjunctival chemosis and restriction of right eye movements. RESULTS An erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was 90 and fluorescein a...

AIM To establish whether ultrasound biomicroscope (UBM) is a helpful tool in locating the arterial segment responsible in patients with segmental attacks in giant cell arteritis METHODS The superficial temporal arteries of 19 patients with suspected giant cell arteritis were examined with the UBM before biopsy. RESULTS 20 specimens provided the histological proof of giant cell arteritis in ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The frequency and amount of intracranial, intradural inflammatory vessel wall enhancement in giant cell arteritis remain unclear. The purpose of this work was to prospectively assess the intracranial extent of vasculitic changes in patients with giant cell arteritis using a dedicated MR imaging protocol optimized for assessment of mural changes of intracranial arteries. ...

A 62-year-old woman presented with 4 months of neck, shoulder, and hip pain, morning stiffness, and elevated inflammatory markers compatible with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Cervical spine imaging demonstrated ill-defined enhancement in posterior neck soft tissues (figure 1), consistent with interspinous bursitis. She reported right-sided headache. Brain magnetic resonance angiography demonst...