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Updated: Oct 16, 2025

An Immunohistopathologic Study to Profile the Folate Receptor Beta Macrophage and Vascular Immune Microenvironment in Giant Cell Arteritis
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An Immunohistopathologic Study to Profile the Folate Receptor Beta Macrophage and Vascular Immune Microenvironment in Giant Cell Arteritis

Published on: February 8, 2019

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PET/CT uncovers cranial giant cell arteritis

Tamer Anati1, Michal Hoffman Ben Shabat2

  • 1Department of Nuclear Medicine, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel. tamer_anati@hotmail.com.

European Journal of Hybrid Imaging
|October 21, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) diagnosis in elderly patients can be aided by [18F]FDG PET/CT imaging. This noninvasive tool shows increased uptake in affected cranial vessels, guiding prompt steroid treatment and symptom improvement.

Area of Science:

  • Vascular Inflammation
  • Nuclear Medicine Imaging
  • Rheumatology

Background:

  • Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a vasculitis affecting large and medium arteries, primarily in individuals over 50.
  • Timely diagnosis of GCA is crucial to prevent severe complications.
  • Corticosteroid therapy is the standard initial treatment upon diagnosis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a case of cranial GCA in an elderly male.
  • To evaluate the utility of [18F]FDG PET/CT in diagnosing cranial GCA.
  • To demonstrate the effectiveness of prompt glucocorticoid treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Case report of an 82-year-old male with suspected cranial GCA.
  • [18F]FDG PET/CT imaging to assess vascular inflammation.
  • Initiation of glucocorticoid therapy based on clinical and imaging findings.

Main Results:

  • [18F]FDG PET/CT revealed increased tracer uptake in cranial and medium-sized vessels.
  • The patient experienced rapid symptom resolution and normalization of inflammatory markers after treatment.
  • The imaging findings correlated with the clinical diagnosis of cranial GCA.

Conclusions:

  • [18F]FDG PET/CT imaging is a valuable noninvasive diagnostic tool for cranial GCA.
  • Early diagnosis and treatment with glucocorticoids lead to favorable outcomes.
  • This case highlights the role of hybrid imaging in managing large vessel vasculitis.
Abstract

Keywords:
Giant cell arteritisTemporal[18F]FDG PET/CTcGCA

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