does anyone know what giant cell articulities is?

Question

i just found out my aunt has this and i'd heard its hereditory, i was wondering if someone could tell me more about it thanks

Answer 1

http://www.emedicine.com/OPH/topic254.htm

Answer 2

Giant Cell Arteritis is a disease not entirely genetic but there is evidence showing that it can be genetic. It may be caused by some kind of bacteria as well. As a matter of fact you cannot find the exact cause of the disease in many patients and it is not part of evaluation. It is an fairly uncommon condition. You can find tons of websites about this but I want to summarize some important points to know aobut the condition:
1-Do not confuse arteritis with arthritis. The former means that blood vessels are involved in an inflammatory process. The latter is about inflammation of joints.
2-Giant means huge. Usually in many inflammatory diseases the small vesseles are involved. In giant cell arteritis big vessels are affected. These are mainly are : aorta and temporal artery. Temporal artery is a vessel you can find it under the skull's skin on both sides of head. In many patients the artery becomes thick and if you paplate the vessel patients complain of severe pain. Thus another name for this condition is temporal arteritis.
3-This is a chronin condition with a good outcome. In some cases it lasts several mohths or even years to be resolved.
4-The most important thing for treatment is a close supervision of a rheumatologist. So your aunt should choose a good physician and be under control till the end of the process.
5-The corner stone of therapy is high dose coricosteroids. The doctor will adjust the dose of the drug based on the response to therapy and also the complications.
6-Patients should be educated about the complications of the disease and the treatment and report whatever happens during the course of the disease and the treatment
7- Eyes are involved in many cases and are part of the patients and doctor's concerns.Regular eye exam is necessary

Nobody in the family should be concerned about his or her affection by the disease just becuase the involvement of gentic factors but it would be good if all family members remember the name and characteristics of the disease.
I hope this helps.