Headache is usually the main presenting symptom of temporal arteritis (also known as giant cell arteritis, or GCA), which is caused by inflammation of blood vessels. This condition happens almost exclusively in the elderly. It presents with a severe headache, which is often one-sided. Some, but not all patients have swelling and tenderness of their temporal artery at the temple. This is a serious condition because it damages blood vessels and can cause strokes, loss of vision, and other complications. The diagnosis is made by blood tests (C-reactive protein, or CRP and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, or ESR) and temporal artery biopsy. However, even the biopsy sometimes does not show the inflammation. The treatment consists of steroid medications, such as prednisone. Prednisone is usually very effective. Unfortunately, prednisone needs to be taken for years if not for the rest of the person’s life and when it is used for long periods, it has many potentially dangerous side effects.
A recent study published in JAMA Neurology showed that many patients with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis have an infection with varicella-zoster virus. This virus is also responsible for shingles and chickenpox
The researchers reviewed samples of temporal arteries for the presence of varicella-zoster virus. It was found in 68 of 93 (73%) of temporal arteries of patients with the disease, compared with 11 of 49 (22%) normals.
The authors concluded that in patients with clinically suspected GCA, prevalence of the virus in their temporal arteries is similar independent of whether biopsy results are negative or positive. They also felt that “Antiviral treatment may confer additional benefit to patients with biopsy-negative GCA treated with corticosteroids, although the optimal antiviral regimen remains to be determined”, and that “Considering that antiviral medications such as Acyclovir are very safe, it is reasonable to give them to all patients with temporal arteritis.”
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