Find information on thousands of medical conditions and prescription drugs.

Arteritis

Arteritis is inflammation of the walls of arteries, usually as a result of infection or auto-immune response. more...

Home
Diseases
A
Aagenaes syndrome
Aarskog Ose Pande syndrome
Aarskog syndrome
Aase Smith syndrome
Aase syndrome
ABCD syndrome
Abdallat Davis Farrage...
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
Abdominal cystic...
Abdominal defects
Ablutophobia
Absence of Gluteal muscle
Acalvaria
Acanthocheilonemiasis
Acanthocytosis
Acarophobia
Acatalasemia
Accessory pancreas
Achalasia
Achard syndrome
Achard-Thiers syndrome
Acheiropodia
Achondrogenesis
Achondrogenesis type 1A
Achondrogenesis type 1B
Achondroplasia
Achondroplastic dwarfism
Achromatopsia
Acid maltase deficiency
Ackerman syndrome
Acne
Acne rosacea
Acoustic neuroma
Acquired ichthyosis
Acquired syphilis
Acrofacial dysostosis,...
Acromegaly
Acrophobia
Acrospiroma
Actinomycosis
Activated protein C...
Acute febrile...
Acute intermittent porphyria
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Acute lymphocytic leukemia
Acute mountain sickness
Acute myelocytic leukemia
Acute myelogenous leukemia
Acute necrotizing...
Acute promyelocytic leukemia
Acute renal failure
Acute respiratory...
Acute tubular necrosis
Adams Nance syndrome
Adams-Oliver syndrome
Addison's disease
Adducted thumb syndrome...
Adenoid cystic carcinoma
Adenoma
Adenomyosis
Adenosine deaminase...
Adenosine monophosphate...
Adie syndrome
Adrenal incidentaloma
Adrenal insufficiency
Adrenocortical carcinoma
Adrenogenital syndrome
Adrenoleukodystrophy
Aerophobia
Agoraphobia
Agrizoophobia
Agyrophobia
Aicardi syndrome
Aichmophobia
AIDS
AIDS Dementia Complex
Ainhum
Albinism
Albright's hereditary...
Albuminurophobia
Alcaptonuria
Alcohol fetopathy
Alcoholic hepatitis
Alcoholic liver cirrhosis
Alektorophobia
Alexander disease
Alien hand syndrome
Alkaptonuria
Alliumphobia
Alopecia
Alopecia areata
Alopecia totalis
Alopecia universalis
Alpers disease
Alpha 1-antitrypsin...
Alpha-mannosidosis
Alport syndrome
Alternating hemiplegia
Alzheimer's disease
Amaurosis
Amblyopia
Ambras syndrome
Amelogenesis imperfecta
Amenorrhea
American trypanosomiasis
Amoebiasis
Amyloidosis
Amyotrophic lateral...
Anaphylaxis
Androgen insensitivity...
Anemia
Anemia, Diamond-Blackfan
Anemia, Pernicious
Anemia, Sideroblastic
Anemophobia
Anencephaly
Aneurysm
Aneurysm
Aneurysm of sinus of...
Angelman syndrome
Anguillulosis
Aniridia
Anisakiasis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylostomiasis
Annular pancreas
Anorchidism
Anorexia nervosa
Anosmia
Anotia
Anthophobia
Anthrax disease
Antiphospholipid syndrome
Antisocial personality...
Antithrombin deficiency,...
Anton's syndrome
Aortic aneurysm
Aortic coarctation
Aortic dissection
Aortic valve stenosis
Apert syndrome
Aphthous stomatitis
Apiphobia
Aplastic anemia
Appendicitis
Apraxia
Arachnoiditis
Argininosuccinate...
Argininosuccinic aciduria
Argyria
Arnold-Chiari malformation
Arrhythmogenic right...
Arteriovenous malformation
Arteritis
Arthritis
Arthritis, Juvenile
Arthrogryposis
Arthrogryposis multiplex...
Asbestosis
Ascariasis
Aseptic meningitis
Asherman's syndrome
Aspartylglycosaminuria
Aspergillosis
Asphyxia neonatorum
Asthenia
Asthenia
Asthenophobia
Asthma
Astrocytoma
Ataxia telangiectasia
Atelectasis
Atelosteogenesis, type II
Atherosclerosis
Athetosis
Atopic Dermatitis
Atrial septal defect
Atrioventricular septal...
Atrophy
Attention Deficit...
Autoimmune hepatitis
Autoimmune...
Automysophobia
Autonomic dysfunction
Familial Alzheimer disease
Senescence
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Medicines

Temporal arteritis, also called giant cell arteritis, is specifically arteritis of the vessels supplying the head, eyes and optic nerves, particularly the temporal artery. It can cause obstruction of blood flow to the optic nerve which can cause vision loss. It may also progress to other parts of the body. Symptoms include headache, vision problems, sensitivity in the head and fatigue. This condition is rare in people under the age of 50. It is four times as common in women as in men. Treatment generally involves steroids to reduce the inflammation. In , remedies usually given to arteritis patient are Acon, Apis, Glon, Tub.

Arteritis may be partially caused by the fungal pathogen Candida albicans.

Read more at Wikipedia.org


[List your site here Free!]


Update: giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica
From American Family Physician, 4/1/04 by Richard Sadovsky

Giant cell arteritis, or temporal arteritis, is an inflammatory disorder of large and medium-sized arteries affected with granulomatous lesions containing T cells and macrophages. Vascular occlusion and tissue ischemia can result, often in the cranial arteries but also in the aorta and its larger branches. Vessel wall inflammation almost always occurs with systemic inflammation. Polymyalgia rheumatica, often coexistent with giant cell arteritis, consists of incomplete vessel wall inflammation with systemic inflammation causing myalgias of the neck, shoulders, and pelvis. Giant cell arteritis is diagnosed by temporal artery biopsy, while there is no specific test for polymyalgia rheumatica. Weyand and Goronzy reviewed current knowledge about giant cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica immunology and how this knowledge affects detection and treatment.

The two major immunopathogenetic processes are arterial wall infiltration by inflammatory cells, particularly T cells, caused by inappropriate activation of the adaptive immune system, and a separate systemic inflammation apparently caused by an excessively activated innate immune system. Clinical manifestations of giant cell arteritis can be abrupt or insidious.Common features such as headache and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) are nonspecific. More specific manifestations such as jaw claudication and diplopia are encountered in fewer than one third of cases. Other typical manifestations include blindness and polymyalgia rheumatica. Disease subtypes include cranial arteritis, large vessel arteritis or aortitis, systemic inflammatory syndrome with arteritis, and "isolated" polymyalgia rheumatica.

The diagnosis of giant cell arteritis includes measurement of acute phase reactants such as ESR and C-reactive protein. Interleukin-6 is being studied as a potentially more sensitive indicator of disease. Normocytic, normochromic anemia and thrombocytosis are common, and abnormal liver function test results, particularly elevated alkaline phosphatase levels, can occur. Normal acute phase reactant levels do not exclude giant cell arteritis, and temporal artery biopsy should be done when this disorder is suspected. Temporal artery biopsy looking for inflammatory infiltrate has the highest diagnostic yield and, when possible, should be performed before corticosteroid therapy to improve diagnostic yield. Imaging with radiography, computed tomography, or magnetic resonance angiography may be useful in patients with negative temporal biopsy by demonstrating lesions that are smoothly tapered at both ends and by detecting aneurysmal dilatations.

Treatment of giant cell arteritis employs a corticosteroid at an initial dosage of 1 mg per kg body weight of prednisone (see accompanying table). Dosing can be tapered every two weeks if clinical and laboratory signs of disease are decreasing. Studies of other immunosuppressive agents have not shown any advantage over corticosteroids. The most common relapse manifestation of giant cell arteritis is polymyalgia rheumatica, which usually can be treated with small increases in the chronic corticosteroid dosage. Steroid treatment often can be discontinued before the two to four years required for the disease to burn itself out.

The authors conclude that current therapeutic regimens with corticosteroids have been successful in treating patients with giant cell arteritis based on the absence of increased mortality. Inflammation may continue to exist at a low level, but the risk for vascular complications is low. Bone-saving therapy should be offered to patients on chronic corticosteroid therapy because of their risk of osteopenia.

RICHARD SADOVSKY, M.D.

Weyand CM, Goronzy JJ. Giant-cell arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica. Ann Intern Med September 16, 2003; 139:505-15.

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

Return to Arteritis
Home Contact Resources Exchange Links ebay