Vasculitis

Clues to Diagnosing, Managing Vanishing Aneurysms

Taral Parikh, MD, G.C. Yathish, MD, Parikshit Sagdeo, MD, Balakrishnan Canchi, MD, & Gurmeet Mangat, MD | December 16, 2015

Case report: A 27-year-old male was referred to the rheumatology outpatient department in February 2015 from the urology department after complaining of recent-onset uncontrolled hypertension (220/160 mmHg), headache and vomiting. In 2010, he was admitted to the urologist for sudden-onset left lumbar region pain and recent-onset hypertension. Clinical examination and the blood tests were normal….

Idiopathic Lung Fibrosis—Check for ANCA

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | November 30, 2015

New research recommends that doctors test the sera of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA), as well as closely monitor this population for signs of lung vasculitis…

Rheumatology Case Report: When Moyamoya Disease Mimicks Primary Central Nervous System Vasculitis

Joey Kim, MD, Megha Patel-Banker, MD, Matthew Abramson, MD, Mehwish Bilal, MD, Sanjay Godhwani, MD, Asha Patnaik, MD, Heidi Roppelt, MD, & Qingping Yao, MD | November 16, 2015

Case report: A 60-year-old Hispanic male with poorly controlled hypertension was sent from the primary care clinic for evaluation of malignant hypertension with a systolic blood pressure above 200 mmHg. His symptoms at the time of presentation included episodic confusion, worsening vision and an unsteady gait. A head computed tomography (CT) scan showed a subacute…

Research in Temporal Arteritis Suggests Link with Infection, Autoimmune Disease

Shamik Bhattacharyya, MD, MS | November 16, 2015

Temporal arteritis was first described by Sir Jonathan Hutchinson in 1890 in an elderly retired gentleman’s servant who developed red, painful streaks on his temples and was found to have bilaterally swollen temporal arteries with feeble pulses.1 Sir Hutchinson disputed the suggestion that the red streaks were caused by the man’s hat and, instead, called…

Fellow’s Forum Case Report: Aneurysm in Takayasu’s Arteritis

G.C. Yathish, MD, Taral Parikh, MD, Parikshit Sagdeo, MD, Balakrishnan Canchi, MD, Gurmeet Mangat, MD, & Hemanth Kumar Pandharpurkar, MS | August 17, 2015

A healthy 30-year-old Indian male was performing his routine workout in the gym when he developed giddiness and transient blackouts. He thought it was due to exercising excessively. Over the next month, he developed a low-grade fever and started feeling lethargic, to the extent that he was unable to exercise or work. He was admitted…

Varicella Zoster Virus May Cause Giant Cell Arteritis

Lara C. Pullen, PhD | August 3, 2015

Researchers have recently discovered a connection between the varicella zoster virus infection, which causes chicken pox and shingles, and giant cell arteritis…

Eosinophilia: A Diagnostic Evaluation Guide for Rheumatologists

Praveen Akuthota, MD, Aryeh Fischer, MD, & Michael E. Wechsler, MD | June 15, 2015

Clinical Vignette A 45-year-old woman with long-standing asthma and chronic sinusitis has new-onset peripheral neuropathy, arthralgias, fatigue, progressive dyspnea and a nonproductive cough. She has never smoked and has no environmental exposures. Her medications include an albuterol metered-dose inhaler (which she uses daily); an inhaled corticosteroid, montelukast; and ibuprofen (which she takes occasionally). She is…