Is there a difference between Takayasus arteritis and giant cell arteritis?
Takayasu’s arteritis predominantly effects young women of reproductive age. However, as mentioned above, men and individuals of all ethnic backgrounds may be effected. By contrast, giant cell arteritis (GCA) affects individuals who are predominantly over 50 years old and whose average age is over 70. Both diseases affect large blood vessels, but the effect on large blood vessels is much more obvious in Takayasu’s arteritis. Both groups of people may have severe headaches, but this is a more consistent feature of GCA. In many patients with GCA, the temples can be exquisitely tender and the temporal artery may become visibly enlarged and inflamed. This would be unusual in Takayasu’s arteritis. It has been argued that these are totally different diseases, and also argued that they are similar or the same diseases, merely having slightly different forms of expression in different age groups. That argument remains unsettled. 5. What do you think is the best direction that research should ta
