[Ocular involvement in polymyalgia rheumatica (author's transl)]

Polymyalgia rheumatica is a disease of the elderly, more common in women. Pain and stiffness localized in the proximal extremities respond well to low-dose corticosteroids. In roughly half of the cases, giant cell arteritis can be detected in apparently normal temporal arteries. There is no danger of ocular involvement in "pure" polymyalgia rheumatica, even with a positive biopsy. When cranial symptoms, such as headache or tenderness of the temporal arteries, appear, there is a great danger of ocular involvement, and high-dose corticosteroid treatment is advisable.