Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Giant Cell Arteritis

Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica are two closely related pathological entities: both affect medium or large arteries throughout the body. These are diseases of the group known as vasculitis, since they present an inflammation of the wall of the blood vessels, and can even lead to necrosis of the wall.

In the case of Giant Cell Arteritis, the supra-aortic trunks (carotid arteries and their branches) are more commonly affected, especially the temporal arteries, although it can affect arteries from other territories.

The two most common forms of vasculitis are:

• Temporal Arteritis (Horton's disease) is more frequent from the age of fifty and especially from the eighty; It is more common in men than in women and occurs frequently in association with Polymyalgia Rheumatica, and its origin is unknown, although it is probably an autoimmune disease. Clinically, headache, fever, intense asthenia and joint pain stand out, and loss of vision may appear as a complication. blood tests and a thorough clinical examination are usually sufficient for the diagnosis, although in some cases an arterial biopsy is required.

• Takayasu disease, a variant that occurs in Asian women around the age of twenty.

Polymyalgia Rheumatica is common in patients with giant cell arteritis, although it is not exclusive to them. Clinically it is characterized by pain in the pelvic and scapular girdles, which worsens with movements and presents morning stiffness; This clinic responds to an inflammation of the synovial layers of the capsule of the affected joints. It can also be accompanied by fever of unknown origin, asthenia, anorexia, weight loss, depressive syndrome.

These processes usually respond satisfactorily to the indicated treatment and complications are usually few, although recurrences are frequent.