Giant Cell Arteritis

More thorough understanding of giant cell arteritis disease processes has shed light on how immune checkpoint inhibitors may be exacerbating this and other immune-mediated conditions, according to a presenter here.

The American College of Rheumatology has released three new vasculitis treatment guidelines — for ANCA-associated vasculitis, giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis, and polyarteritis nodosa — with a fourth expected soon.

Tocilizumab plus prednisone was linked to a sixfold reduced risk for treatment failure in patients with giant cell arteritis, with highest risks reported among women and patients treated with prednisone monotherapy, according to data.

Tocilizumab, the one biologic therapy that has FDA approval for giant cell arteritis, has shown ongoing efficacy in keeping patients in remission and off steroids, according to a pair of presenters at the Biologic Therapies Summit.

Although the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases is comparable to the general population, increased systemic inflammation among these patients is linked to symptomatic COVID-19, according to researchers.

Tocilizumab improves outcomes in patients with giant cell arteritis who present with polymyalgia rheumatica symptoms only, cranial symptoms only or both at baseline, according to data published in Seminars in Arthritis & Rheumatism.

A substantial proportion of patients who received tocilizumab for giant cell arteritis for 1 year remain in drug-free remission throughout the 2 years after ceasing therapy, according to data published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

The mortality rate of patients with giant cell arteritis increased from 50 deaths per 1,000 in 2000 to 57.6 per 1,000 in 2018, while mortality among the general population declined, according to data published in Arthritis Care & Research.

Giant cell arteritis and COVID-19 both feature headache, fever, elevated C-reactive protein and cough as symptoms, whereas jaw claudication, visual loss and platelet and lymphocyte counts may be more discriminatory, according to findings.

Thoracic aortic dilation is more common among patients with giant cell arteritis, but the subsequent risk for aortic repair, rupture or dissection is low, according to data published in Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism.