Temporal arteritis

Abstract

Temporal (giant cell) arteritis is a systemic disease, involving various medium-sized and larger arteries, that occurs mostly in elderly patients. In addition to the classical clinical symptoms of headache, jaw claudication, and polymyalgia rheumatica syndrome, neurological manifestations are common. Blindness due to ischemic optic neuropathy is probably the most common and most feared sinister manifestation of the disease, but stroke is the leading cause of death in patients with temporal arteritis (Caselli et al., 1988). Temporal arteritis was first described by Hutchinson (1890) and later by Horton et al. (1934). The original clinical report described an elderly man, who was unable to wea..