title: Giant cell arteritis and blindness.
abstract: The etiology of giant cell arteritis (temporal arteritis, cranial arteritis) is still obscure. Polymyalgia rheumatica is probably a stage of the same disease. It causes systemic and localized symptoms, usually in patients older than 55 years, and is not uncommon as a cause of loss of vision. The sedimentation rate is unusually high. The diagnosis is defintively established by biopsy. The response to steroid therapy is dramatic.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001766:Blindness / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009880:Ophthalmic Artery; D011111:Polymyalgia Rheumatica / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D011241:Prednisone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013699:Temporal Arteries / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D011241:Prednisone