OBJECTIVES To determine the incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) in GCA. METHODS Utilizing the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, all incident cases of GCA diagnosed between 1 January 1950 and 31 December 2004 were identified. For each GCA patient, two subjects without GCA of the same gender and similar age and length of medical history were randomly selected from the population. Pat...

The bizarre coincidence (or is it a coincidence?) through which my wife and I are now living illustrates many of the physician pitfalls diagnosing one's own family subsequent perils or rewards knowing too much.

INTRODUCTION Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a chronic vasculitis affecting approximately 230,000 Americans. Limited data exist on the healthcare resource utilization and costs attributable to GCA. The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of illness in patients with GCA in the US. METHODS A cohort of patients with a new GCA diagnosis was identified from a large US claims database be...

OBJECTIVE To compare multiple serum markers for their ability to detect active disease in patients with GCA and in those with PMR. METHODS Twenty-six markers related to immune cells that may be involved in GCA and PMR were determined by ELISA and multiplex assay in the serum of 24 newly diagnosed, untreated GCA/PMR patients, 14 corticosteroid (CS)-treated GCA/PMR patients in remission and 13 ...

Objective. The prognosis of large-vessel GCA (LV-GCA) has not yet been investigated. How does it compare to GCA without arm vasculitis (GCA controls)? Methods. Charts of 53 LV-GCA patients and 53 GCA controls were reviewed following a predetermined protocol. Telephone interviews of patients or their primary care physicians were conducted. Forty LV-GCA patients underwent follow-up duplex ultraso...

OBJECTIVES It has been suggested that patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) may share a common pathway with atherosclerosis. Furthermore, patients with GCA and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), in addition to advanced age, are treated for prolonged periods of time with corticosteroids, a factor that can also accelerate atherosclerosis. Hyperhomocysteinaemia is considered an independent risk fact...

A systematic literature search was performed to summarise current knowledge on extracranial giant cell arteritis (GCA), i.e. large-artery involvement in patients with or without clinically apparent temporal arteritis (cranial GCA). Extracranial GCA is increasingly recognised, both in patients with cranial GCA and with solitary extracranial GCA, due to increased awareness among physicians and de...

INTRODUCTION Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is characterized by intimal hyperplasia leading to ischaemic manifestations that involve large vessels. Neurotrophins (NTs) and their receptors (NTRs) are protein factors for growth, differentiation and survival of neurons. They are also involved in the migration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Our aim was to investigate whether NTs and NTRs are ...

OBJECTIVE In this study, we evaluated clinical and epidemiologic features of our giant cell arteritis (GCA) and polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) patients. METHODS We retrospectively recorded down the general features of patients with GCA and PMR diagnosed at our center within the last 6 years. The incidence rates per 100000 aged > or =50 were calculated. In addition, we reported the frequencies o...

BACKGROUND Diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA) is based on criteria of the American College of Rheumatology. However, not all GCA patients meet these criteria and treatment may be delayed in individual patients, leading to an increased risk of complications. METHODS In an observational study, we investigated acute phase response markers in GCA and non-GCA patients matched for erythrocyte ...