Diagnosis and treatment of giant cell arteritis

Giant cell arteritis (GCA), a large and medium-sized blood vessel vasculitis, is the most common vasculitis in elderly people in Western countries. Ocular ischemic complications, including irreversible loss of vision, are the major source of chronic disability among GCA patients. A temporal artery biopsy is the gold-standard test for the diagnosis of GCA and glucocorticoids are the cornerstone therapy. Alternative steroid-sparing drugs, such as methotrexate or anti-tumor necrosis factor-a monoclonal antibody therapy, have been used. Antiplatelet therapy may also be useful to reduce the frequency of ischemic events.