JoinUs Fundraise OnlineDiscussion Routemap Newsletter Shop SupportGroups

Home

AboutVasculitis

LivingwithVasculitis

AboutUs

Research

Donate

Professionals

Helpline

ContactUs

About Vasculitis
IndividualDiseases
WhatisVasculitis?
TheImmuneSystem

GiantCellArteritis/TemporalArteritis
DownloadthispageasaPDF
GiantCellArteritis

CausesofVasculitis
Symptoms
DiagnosingVasculitis
TreatingVasculitis
EffectsofVasculitis
VasculitisDisease
Photos
TypesofVasculitisby
Size

WhatisGiantCellArteritis/TemporalArteritis?
GCAisadiseasecharacterisedbyinflammationoflargeandmediumsizedbloodvessels.An
alternativenameforthisconditionis"TemporalArteritis"asthebloodvesselsinthetemple
areaofthehead(sidesoftheforehead)arecommonlyaffected.Thegiantcellsreferredtoare
specificcollectionsofimmunesystemcellsseenintheareasofinflammationifabiopsyis
performed.

Whoareaffected?
Thisconditionisoneofthecommonestformsofvasculitis,affectingoneortwopersonsper
10,000peopleintheUK.Itismorecommonlyseeninolderpatientsandisseldomdiagnosed
belowtheageof50.

Whatistheaetiology(cause)?

DiseasesAffectingSmall
BloodVessels

ThecauseofGiantCellArteritis/TemporalArteritisisnotyetknown.

GlossaryofDrugs

Whatarethesymptoms?

GlossaryofProcedures

Symptomsoffatigue,lossofappetite,weightlossandfeverareoftenfound.Headache,with
painandtendernessoverthetemples,isaprominentfeatureofthisdiseasedueto
inflammationofthetemporalarteries.GCAiscloselyassociatedwiththePolymyalgia
RheumaticaSyndromewhichcausesgeneralweakness,painandstiffnessinmusclesand
joints.Theweaknessinthemusclescanbequitedebilitatingandtypicallyaffectstheupper
armsandlegs.Simpletaskssuchasbrushingthehair,cooking,gardening,gettingupandout
ofchairsorbedsandwalkingmaybecomedifficult.

GlossaryofBloodTest
Monitoring
FrequentlyAsked
Questions

Asthisconditionaffectsthemainbloodvesselssupplyingpartsofthebody,areductioninthe
bloodandoxygensupply(ischaemia)todifferentorganscanresult.Thiscanleadtoavariety
ofsymptoms.Aclassicsymptomofthisconditionispaininthetongueorjawwheneating
(jawclaudication).Reductionofthebloodsupplytothebraincancauseastroke.Reductionin
thebloodsupplytotheeyescanleadtoblurredvision,orinsomepatients,blindness.

News
YoungVasculitisWinter
WeekendBreak
Posted:23Jun2016
YoungVasculitisWinterWeekend
Break

"31FactsYouShould
KnowaboutVasculitis"
Posted:31Mar2016
"31FactsYouShouldKnowAbout
Vasculitis"

Debbie'sDeliciousCakes
&Bakestoraise
awareness
Posted:31Mar2016
Debbie'sDeliciousCakes&Bakes
RaiseAwarenessofVasculitis

Events
TandemSkyDivefor
VasculitisUK
Eventdate:01Jul2016
Jenniferisskydivinginmemoryofher
Nan

SouthWalesVSG
Summermeeting
Eventdate:02Jul2016
SouthWalesVasculitisSupport
SummermeetinginLlantrisant

SupportGroupmeeting:
HullArea
Eventdate:03Jul2016
TherewillbeanewVasculitisSupport
GroupmeetingnearHullinJuly.

ElevenRunninginthe
BritishLondon10Kfor
VUKJuly10th2016
Eventdate:10Jul2016
ElevenRunningintheBritishLondon
10KforVUK

Craig's70mileUltra
challenge

Makingadiagnosis
Aswithmosttypesofvasculitisthereisnoonetestthatwillgivethediagnosis.Thediagnosis
isusuallymadebecausethedoctorrecognisesthetypicalcollectionofsymptomsandclinical
signs.Bloodtestsforinflammation(ESRerythrocytesedimentationrate;CRPCreactive
protein;plasmaviscosity)willusuallybehighindicatinginflammationbutthesearenot
specificandcanberaisedinanytypeofvasculitis,manyinfectionsandothertypesof
inflammatorydisease.Ifthetemporalarteriesareinvolved(locatedatthesidesofthe
foreheadoverthetemples)thenabiopsymaybeperformed.Ifthebiopsyshowsinflammation
thiswillhelptoconfirmthediagnosis.Unfortunatelyabiopsywithoutinflammationdoesnot
excludethediagnosis.Sometimesanultrasoundscanofthearteriesisusedinsteadofa
biopsy.

Treatment
Thetwoaimsoftreatmentaretorelievepatient'ssymptomsandpreventdamagetoorgans
(especiallytheeyes)duetoreducedbloodsupply.Highdoseoralsteroids(Prednisolone)are
usuallygivenandthedoseisreducedslowlyovermonths,usingtheESRmarkerasaguide
toresponse.Treatmentwithsteroidsisusuallygivenforatleastoneortwoyears.
Insomepatientswithresistantorproblematicdiseaseotherdrugsaresometimesusedsuch
asmethotrexate,Azathioprineorantibodytherapysuchasinfliximab.Whilesomepatients
mayrespondwelltothesedrugsthereisnocurrentevidencethattheyareeffectiveinall
patients.

DrugsandSideeffects
ForinformationonthemaindrugsprescribedforGiantCellArteritissee:
Azathioprine
Infliximab
Methotrexate
Steroids
ForinformationonotherdrugsusedinthetreatmentofvasculitisseeGlossaryofdrugsand
sideeffects.

Prognosis
Thereisarelapserateofabout50percent.Withdrawalofthesteroidscanleadtoarelapse
ofthesymptoms.Insuchcasesthesteroidisrestartedanditisoftensufficienttoinduce
remission.Thesteroiddosecanagainbereduced.Inmostrelapsedcasesthepatientwillbe

Eventdate:30Jul2016
CraigSharpisrunningtheGrim
Reaper70mileUltrachallenge

maintainedonasmallmaintenancedoseofsteroidsindefinitely.Theprognosisisgoodwith
correctandearlydiagnosisandtreatment.

KeyPoints
GCAisoneofthecommonestformsofvasculitis
Symptomsincludeheadacheandjawclaudication(crampingpain)
Temporalarterybiopsyorultrasoundscanmayhelpconfirmthediagnosis
Damagetotheeyesisusuallythemostseriouscomplication
Treatmentisusuallywithsteroidsandmaycontinueformanyyears.

RelatedVasculitisArticles
FertilityandVasculitisDrDavidJayne
VasculitisandtheEyesDrCatherineGuly

Furtherreading
GiantCellArteritis:Suspectit,treatit,treatitproperlyAlexandraVillaForte
TheTreatmentofGiantCellArteritisJ.AlexanderFraser,CorneliaM.Weyand,etal
LargeVesselDiseasesAshimaGulati,ArvindBagga
ReportResearchintoGiantCellArteritisScienceDaily17Jan2014

Usefullinks
OurUsefulVasculitisLinkspagecontainscontactdetailsfororganisationsofferinghelpand
supportforpatientswithGiantCellArteritis,PolymyalgiaRheumaticaandothervasculitis
diseases.

What'sPopular

SiteLinks

Social

IndividualDiseases

Disclaimer

OurFacebookPage

TreatingVasculitis

PrivacyPolicy&Cookies

VUKonTwitter

ManagingChronicPain

VUKShop

VUKonHealthUnlocked

VasculitisFAQ

Sitemap
UsefulLinks

Copyright2015VasculitisUK.AllRightsReserved.
Design&HostingbyOnScreen