Vasculitis
Giant cell arteritisis a type of vasculitis that often affects the arteries in the head and neck.Itmostly occurs inadults over the age of 50.
It's sometimes called temporal arteritis becausethe arteries around the temples are often affected.
It can cause:
It also commonly occurs alongside polymyalgia rheumatica (see below). The main treatment is steroid medication .
It mainly affects middle-aged or elderly people.
It can cause:
It's a serious condition that can be fatal if left untreated, as it can lead to organ failure. It's usually treated with steroid medication or other medicines that reduce the activity of the immune system.
It's thought to be triggered by the body reacting to an infection.
It can cause:
It's not usually serious and tends to get better without treatment.
It tends to develop in childhood or in middle-aged people.
Itcan sometimes be triggered by an infection, such as hepatitis B , but the exact cause is uncertain.
It can cause:
Itcan be very serious if not treated. The main treatment is steroid medication ,and sometimes other medicines that reduce the activity of the immune system.
The Vasculitis UK website has more information about polyarteritis nodosa .
Find out about the main types of vasculitis, with links to more information.
Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, also called Churg-Strauss syndrome,is a type of vasculitis that mainly affects adults aged 30 to 45. It can cause: Asthma allergic rhinitis ( co
Giant cell arteritisis a type of vasculitis that often affects the arteries in the head and neck.Itmostly occurs inadults over the age of 50. It's sometimes called temporal arteritis becausethe arter
Polymyalgia rheumatica is a type of vasculitis that's closely related to giant cell arteritis (see above).Itmostly occurs inadults over 50 and is more common in women than men. It can cause: pain
Othertypes of vasculitis include: Behet's disease typicallycauses mouth ulcers and genital ulcers, and is more common in people from Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, China and Japan Buerger's