Chlamydia pneumoniae not detected in temporal artery biopsies from patients with temporal arteritis

In a recent report Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae), examined with both immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), was detected in positive temporal artery biopsies from patients with temporal arteritis (TA). Our aim was to examine whether C. pneumoniae could be detected in patients with TA recruited from a high endemic area of TA in southern Norway. Twenty paraffin-embedded temporal artery biopsies showing convincing inflammation in the vessel wall with lymphocytic infiltration (giant cells in 12 biopsies) from 20 patients with TA were examined for the presence of C. pneumoniae using an established PCR technique. All examined TA patients (mean age 74.4 (SD 7.5) years, 75% females) fulfilled the ACR-1990 criteria. C. pneumoniae was not detected in any of the biopsies. In conclusion, our results indicate that C. pneumoniae, at least in the population of southern Norway, does not have any pathogenetic role in TA.