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An Immunohistopathologic Study to Profile the Folate Receptor Beta Macrophage and Vascular Immune Microenvironment in Giant Cell Arteritis
06:35

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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Current developments in the diagnosis and treatment of giant cell arteritis

Denes Szekeres1, Bayan Al Othman2

  • 1School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States.

Frontiers in Medicine
|December 30, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) affects adults over 50 with artery inflammation. Current treatments show promise but relapses remain common, necessitating ongoing research for better diagnostics and therapies.

Area of Science:

  • Rheumatology
  • Vascular Medicine
  • Immunology

Background:

  • Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the most prevalent vasculitis affecting individuals over 50.
  • Characterized by granulomatous inflammation of medium to large arteries, it commonly involves the temporal artery.
  • Clinical presentation is diverse, often complicating diagnosis due to unreliable testing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review current diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for GCA.
  • To highlight emerging techniques in risk assessment and patient stratification.
  • To discuss the impact of new biologic therapies and ongoing research.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current literature on GCA diagnosis and management.
  • Discussion of advanced imaging modalities like color Doppler ultrasound and FDG-PET.
  • Evaluation of novel risk stratification tools (Halo scoring, axillary vessel ultrasound).

Main Results:

  • Tocilizumab represents a significant advancement, enabling glucocorticoid-sparing treatment strategies.
  • Despite new therapies, substantial relapse rates persist.
  • Biologic agents possess their own unique side effect profiles.

Conclusions:

  • Ongoing clinical trials are crucial for optimizing diagnostic modalities, treatment regimens, and therapy duration for GCA.
  • Continued investigation into point-of-care ultrasound and FDG-PET is warranted for longitudinal evaluation.
  • Balancing treatment efficacy with side effect profiles remains a key challenge in GCA management.

Keywords:
biologic therapeuticsclinical trialscolor Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS)diagnostics - clinical characteristicsgiant cell (temporal) arteritis

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