Curriculum · Musculoskeletal / Orthopedic / Rheumatology
Giant cell arteritis
What it is
Giant cell arteritis, also called temporal arteritis, is a granulomatous large vessel vasculitis of the branches of the carotid artery, reaching the ophthalmic and temporal arteries. It is the most common vasculitis in individuals over 50. The histology shows a vasculitis with giant cells that characteristically skips certain sections of the affected artery whilst damaging others, and the arteries of the muscle bed are most affected in polymyalgia rheumatica, with which it overlaps. The cells in it are mononuclear cells and giant cells. The arteries it runs in are branches of the carotid: the ophthalmic artery, the superficial temporal artery and the occipital artery.
Causes and risk
Age is the risk that matters, since it is the most common vasculitis in people over 50, and there is a strong association with polymyalgia rheumatica, so that the two conditions often occur together and the symptoms of one should be looked for in the other. It is a disease of adults over 50, and an HLA-DR4 association is noted with it.