Research in Temporal Arteritis Suggests Link with Infection, Autoimmune Disease

Polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) also accompanies about 50% of cases of GCA.² If VZV alone were to account for GCA, it would likely follow that the much more prevalent steroid-responsive condition PMR might be related to VZV as well. The study does not provide clinical data on the patients about preceding symptoms.

Questions Remain

The current study raises important questions about our understanding of GCA. Therapeutically, a randomized clinical trial assessing the value of adding anti-viral treatment to corticosteroids accompanied by proof of VZV treatment, such as by histology, will help answer some of the outstanding questions.

Shamik Bhattacharyya, MD, MS, is a neurologist in the Division of Neurological Infections and Inflammatory Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston.

References

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