Takayasu Arteritis

Takayasu arteritis is a rare, systemic, most commonly affects women of childbearing age. It is a inflammatory large-vessel vasculitis disease involving inflammation in the walls of the largest arteries in the body: the aorta and its main branches. The disease results from an attack by the body's own immune system, causing inflammation in the walls of arteries.

Arteriographic lesions were identified in 145 patients with TAK and 62 patients with GCA. Cluster analysis demonstrated that arterial involvement was contiguous in the aorta and usually symmetric in paired branch vessels for TAK and GCA. There was significantly more left carotid and mesenteric artery disease in TAK and more left and right axillary artery disease in GCA. S

Particularly these patients needing immunosuppressive drugs. Glucocorticoids (prednisone, prednisolone or others), often referred to as “steroids,” are an important part of treatment. The dose and length of treatment depend on how bad the disease is and how long the patient has had it. Lasting damage to arteries sometimes needs a vascular procedure or surgical treatment.