Giant Cell Arteritis in Combination with Posterior Capsular Cataract. Clinical Case

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is an immune-mediated systemic granulomatous vasculitis that affects medium-sized and large arteries that have an internal elastic lamina. GCA occurs 3 times more often in women than in men because women are much more susceptible to autoimmune diseases, which can be caused by a number of biological factors, including the hormone estrogen. Data on the signs and symptoms of GCA are conflicting. Patients with GCA may complain of one or more of the following symptoms: headache, scalp tenderness, neck pain, malaise, myalgia, anorexia, weight loss, anemia, pain during chewing. Symptoms of polymyalgia rheumatica, temporal artery abnormalities, flu-like symptoms, fever of unknown etiology, and other unspecified systemic symptoms may also be present. Ischemic lesions that may develop in GCA include ischemic stroke, coronary arteritis and myocardial infarction, mesenteric lesions and scalp necrosis. Occult GCA is described, in which patients do not have systemic symptoms of this disease despite a positive temporal artery biopsy, increased ESR and CRP. Occult GCA is a potential cause of blindness. The review also describes the diagnostic criteria and ophthalmologic manifestations of GCA.