What is temporal arteritis?

Risk of blindness: It is form of auto-immune disease causing inflammation of blood vessels, not just teporal artery. Patients are at high risk of blindness due to involvement of blood vessels in the eye. The disease can be controlled with stroids (prednisolone). It is also called giant cell arteritis, usually occurs in older people, may be associated with fever and constitutional symptoms.

Inflammation: Temporal arteritis (ta) is a non-infectious inflammation of the temporal arteries, ususally seen in individuals over 50 yrs. Headache or head pains are the most common complaint, associated with tender temporal arteries. Other symptoms include jaw claudication, anorexia, fever, anemia and elevated wbc. An elevated sedimentation rate(esr) is typically above 80mm/hr, but ta can occur with normal esr.

Temporal afteritis: Is a vasculitis -- that is inflammation of a blood vessel. It is an autoimmune disease -- the immune system attacking ones own body. The temporal part refers to the dominant vessel involved -- on the temple (in front of and just above the ear.

Artery inflammation: Also known as "giant cell arteritis" is an auto-immune disease characterized by inflammation of the vessels of the head and neck. Its cause is unknown. It is more common in women and usually is seen in the elderly. Definitive diagnosis requires removal of a portion of the superficial temporal artery and examination under a microscope looking for "giant cells" that are damaging the arteries.

Steroids: Steroids, most commonly, prednisone, are the only generally accepted treatment for the symptoms of ta. Other medications have been used with varying and mostly disappointing results.

Options beyond pred!: Steroids may be used initially, but the use of Methotrexate , and more recently the tnf-alpha inhibitors have shown remarkable efficacy with quick action. The high dose steroids used solely in the past may have saved lives. But still cause major problems for patients.