In this Article

• What is polymyalgia rheumatica?
• What causes polymyalgia rheumatica?
• What are symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica?
• How is polymyalgia rheumatica diagnosed?
• How is polymyalgia rheumatica treated?
• What is the prognosis for patients with polymyalgia rheumatica?
• What is giant cell arteritis?
• What are symptoms of giant cell arteritis?
• How is giant cell arteritis diagnosed?
• How is giant cell arteritis treated?
• What is the prognosis for patients with giant cell arteritis?
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica At A Glance
• Patient Discussions: Polymyalgia Rheumatica - Symptoms At Onset Of Disease
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica Glossary
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica Index
• Find a local Rheumatologist in your town

What is the prognosis for patients with giant cell arteritis?

Giant cell arteritis usually runs a self-limited course, over months to years. Rarely, the inflammation may not respond to high doses of cortisone, and stronger medications that suppress the immune system have been tried, such as methotrexate. In most patients, the cortisone medications can gradually be tapered according to the symptoms while the ESR blood test is monitored.

The effects of the arteritis depend not only on the amount of inflammation in the arteries but also on the location of the arteries in various body tissues. Recently, research scientists studying arteritis have discovered that the location of the inflamed arteries in the body and whether it is associated with polymyalgia rheumatica seem to relate to different features of specialized white blood cells (T cells) that are infiltrating the artery walls. If these T cell differences can be further classified according to the patterns of inflammation in patients, this could lead to a new era of "customized" treatments for giant cell arteritis.

Polymyalgia Rheumatica At A Glance

• Polymyalgia rheumatica causes pain and stiffness in muscles and joints.
• Polymyalgia rheumatica is diagnosed by characteristic symptoms associated with abnormal blood testing for inflammation.
• Polymyalgia rheumatica is treated with low doses of cortisone medications.
• Giant cell arteritis is a result of inflammation of arteries.
• Giant cell arteritis can lead to blindness and/or stroke.
• Giant cell arteritis is detected by a biopsy of an artery.
• Giant cell arteritis is treated with high-dose cortisone medications.

References: Koopman, William, et al., eds. Clinical Primer of Rheumatology. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2003.

Kelley's Textbook of Rheumatology, W B Saunders Co, edited by Shaun Ruddy, et al., 2000.

Polymyalgia Rheumatica - Symptoms At Onset Of Disease

The MedicineNet physician editors ask:

The symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica can vary greatly from patient to patient. What were your symptoms at the onset of your disease?

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