Treatment of giant cell arteritis – current approach and new possibilities

Czech version

Authors: Jakub Videman; Martina Skácelová; Pavel Horák; Adéla Skoumalová; Dominik Hraboš
Authors‘ workplace: III. interní klinika – nefrologická, revmatologická a endokrinologická, FN a LF UP Olomouc
Published in: Vnitř Lék 2022; 68(5): 266-272
Category: Main Topic
doi: https://doi.org/10.36290/vnl.2022.058

Overview

Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) is an autoimmune mediated systemic vasculitis affecting large arteries – the aorta and its branches. It has the highest incidence of all systemic vasculitides and manifests nearly exclusively in patients aged 50 or older. Amongst its non-specific and specific symptoms are headaches, mastication claudication or signs of rheumatic polymyalgia, a relatively common and immediate treatment requiring condition being acute vision loss due to optic ischemia. A GCA diagnosis is based on clinical and paraclinical findings and imaging techniques including PET/CT; with an important role still being played by histological verification from temporal artery biopsy. Treatment is based on immunosuppressive agents – systemic glucocorticoids, with adjunct therapy options being methotrexate and tocilizumab. Currently, there are also several clinical trials examining the efficacy of other modern biological agents in GCA.

Keywords:

Methotrexate – glucocorticoids – giant cell arteritis – tocilizumab

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