Temporal arteritis

Abstract

Temporal arteritis or giant cell arteritis occurs most commonly in elderly individuals. The lesion is usually restricted to the temporal arteries, but rarely, those elsewhere in the body may be involved. The symptoms include a pulsatile headache, usually in the temporal regions, together with anorexia, fever, jaw claudication and muscle pain, known as polymyalgia rheumatica. Histopathological study shows a granulomatous inflammatory lesion with mono-nuclear cell infiltration, associated with Langhans type giant cells, involving mainly the tunica media. Temporal arteritis is not considered to be a life-threatening disorder, however, visual disturbance, the most serious complication, may appear in those with affection of the ophthalmic artery, resulting in blindness in approximately 26% of the untreated cases. Therefore, early diagnosis by temporal artery biopsy and immediate steroid administration should be the keynote of successful therapy for preventing such a critical complication and for relief of the symptoms.