In 2021, the ACR—in concert with the Vasculitis Foundation (VF)—released four new vasculitis guidelines, one each on: 1) anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated vasculitis, 2) giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu arteritis, 3) polyarteritis nodosa and 4) Kawasaki disease. The guideline development process is complex. For the vasculitis guidelines, this process kicked off in June… [Read More]
Syphilis is a chronic sexually transmitted disease (STD) caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum. The clinical manifestations of syphilis are divided into four stages: 1) the primary stage, characterized by painless mucosal or cutaneous chancre at the site of infection that resolves spontaneously; 2) the secondary stage in which a generalized maculopapular rash and condyloma… [Read More]
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a granulomatous vasculitis of large- and medium-sized arteries, usually affecting the cranial branches of the aortic arch. It is the most common vasculitis, with the highest risk factor being age. Accurate diagnosis and prompt initiation of therapy are of great importance to prevent serious complications, with the most feared being… [Read More]
Researchers suggest antiviral therapy is not appropriate for patients with GCA, based on their study findings and related research…... [Read More]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]