Search results for: giant cell arteritis

Varicella Zoster Virus Not Associated with Giant Cell Arteritis Pathogenesis

February 4, 2020 • By Carina Stanton

Researchers suggest antiviral therapy is not appropriate for patients with GCA, based on their study findings and related research…... [Read More]

New Insights into the Management of Giant Cell Arteritis

January 28, 2020 • By Lara C. Pullen, PhD

A systematic literature review identified novel evidence on the treatment and management of GCA that was incorporated into the most recent EULAR recommendations on the management of large vessel vasculitis. Investigators confirmed the efficacy of prompt initiation of glucocorticoids and found fast-track approaches to diagnosis lowered the risk of ischemic complications…... [Read More]

Race May Not Be a Risk Factor for Giant Cell Arteritis

October 21, 2019 • By Lara C. Pullen, PhD

Past research has identified being of Northern European descent as a risk factor, among others such as age, sex and HLA DRB1, for developing giant cell arteritis (GCA). But new research casts doubts on this idea, finding that rates of biopsy proven GCA may not differ by race…... [Read More]

Permanent Vision Loss in Late Giant Cell Arteritis

October 18, 2018 • By Kimberly Retzlaff

Patients with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) or peripheral arthritis may require extra vigilance during treatment because of a suspected link to giant cell arteritis (GCA) and, potentially, permanent vision loss. “Development of giant cell arteritis after treating polymyalgia or peripheral arthritis: a retrospective case-control study,” a March 2018 study published in The Journal of Rheumatology, suggests… [Read More]

Trial Data Reveals the Limitations of Steroids in Giant Cell Arteritis Therapy

September 20, 2018 • By Thomas R. Collins

AMSTERDAM—Just how seldom prednisone is successful at inducing remission in giant cell arteritis (GCA), despite such a long history of use for the disease, is one of the many lessons to emerge from the data in the GiACTA trial, said the principal investigator of the trial, which is the largest ever in GCA and is… [Read More]

Exciting Advances in Giant Cell Arteritis Diagnosis & Treatment

May 17, 2018 • By Jason Liebowitz, MD

Baltimore—Rheumatologists and meteorologists share more in common than you might suspect, said Dr. Rebecca Manno, assistant professor of medicine for the Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, and assistant director of the Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center. At a March 8 meeting of the Maryland Society for the Rheumatic Diseases, Dr. Manno used the… [Read More]

Experts Discuss Proposed Giant Cell Arteritis Risk Tool

April 26, 2018 • By Kathy Holliman

A proposed model to predict the risk of giant cell arteritis (GCA) prior to a temporal artery biopsy could help triage patients and guide decision making about the need for biopsy or monitoring (see Figure 1). There’s no specific biomarker for GCA, and GCA can be a “diagnostic conundrum, especially when it presents in an… [Read More]

Updates on Giant Cell Arteritis

March 19, 2018 • By Susan Bernstein

SAN DIEGO—Recent research tells us more about giant cell arteritis (GCA) to help rheumatologists more accurately diagnose and effectively treat patients with this type of vasculitis. On Nov. 6 at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, three experts explored the latest findings on GCA pathogenesis, diagnostic approaches, imaging modalities and growing treatment options. GCA: What’s Really Happening?… [Read More]

Abatacept Plus Prednisone Therapy Studied for Treating Giant Cell Arteritis

September 17, 2017 • By Linda Childers

A recent study, conducted by the Vasculitis Clinical Research Consortium and funded by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), examined whether the addition of abatacept, a drug that affects T cell activation, to standard prednisone treatment could reduce the risk of relapse in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA).1 Although… [Read More]

Rheumatology Drug Updates: Giant Cell Arteritis Relapse Possible if Tocilizumab Discontinued; Plus Updates on Rituximab, Etanercept

January 19, 2017 • By Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP

GCA Relapse Possible When Discontinuing Tocilizumab In a Phase 2 randomized, controlled trial, tocilizumab, an anti-IL-6 biologic agent, was shown to induce and maintain remission for up to 52 weeks in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA).1 During this trial, patients with GCA were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive 8 mg/kg bodyweight tocilizumab… [Read More]