The key difference between giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis is that giant cell arteritis is a type of arteritis that affects older patients who are generally over 50 years of age, while Takayasu arteritis is a type of arteritis that affects younger patients who are generally less than 40 years of age.
Arteritis is a medical condition due to the inflammation of the arteries. This condition damages blood walls and reduces blood flow to the organs. There are several types of arteritis. Giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis are two different types of arteritis.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Giant Cell Arteritis
3. What is Takayasu Arteritis
4. Similarities – Giant Cell Arteritis and Takayasu Arteritis
5. Giant Cell Arteritis vs Takayasu Arteritis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Giant Cell Arteritis vs Takayasu Arteritis
What is Giant Cell Arteritis?
Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is a type of arteritis that affects older patients. People who are generally over 50 years of age are affected by this condition. GCA is very rare in young people. Moreover, it is also more common in women than men. In addition, GCA is more common in people of North European descent than in people of other races. GCA is also linked to another condition called polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR). Often, people have both GCA and PMR. The common symptoms of this condition may include headaches (severe pain and tenderness over the temples and the scalp), tenderness of blood vessels at the temples, pain in the jaw when chewing, severe tiredness that affects the quality of life, flu-like symptoms, sweating at day or night, weight loss, double vision, and loss of sight (in rare cases). Giant cell arteritis is an autoimmune condition. Therefore, in people with GCA, the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy arteries.
Figure 01: Giant Cell Arteritis
GCA can be diagnosed through physical examinations, blood tests, X-rays, and biopsies. Furthermore, treatment options for giant cell arteritis may include steroid tablets, calcium and vitamin D supplements, bisphosphonates, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) such as methotrexate, leflunomide, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, biologic medications such as tocilizumab and low-strength aspirin (protect vision).
What is Takayasu Arteritis?
Takayasu arteritis is a type of arteritis that affects younger patients. People who are generally less than 40 years of age are affected by Takayasu arteritis. It is a very uncommon form of vasculitis or inflammation in the blood vessels. This disease is more common in Japanese, Mexican, Indian, and East Asian descent. The symptoms of this condition may include fever, fatigue, pain in the muscles, no desire to eat, chest pain, shortness of breath, headaches, dizziness, fatigue or pain in the arms and legs, belly pain, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack. Moreover, Takayasu arteritis is also an autoimmune condition.
Figure 02: Takayasu Arteritis
Takayasu arteritis can be diagnosed through physical examination, X-ray, procedures to detect aneurysm, MRI, CT scan, angiography, PET scan, and ultrasound. Furthermore, treatment options for Takayasu arteritis may include corticosteroids like prednisone, immunosuppressive medications such as methotrexate, azathioprine, mycophenolate, leflunomide, cyclophosphamide, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors like etanercept, infliximab, and tocilizumab.
What are the Similarities Between Giant Cell Arteritis and Takayasu Arteritis?
- Giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis are two different types of arteritis.
- Both are very rare and uncommon conditions.
- They both are autoimmune conditions.
- They are more common in women.
- Both are characterized by pain in different parts of the body, fever, fatigue, etc.
- Both can be diagnosed through physical examination, blood tests, and imaging scans.
- They are treated through steroid tablets and immunosuppressive medications.
What is the Difference Between Giant Cell Arteritis and Takayasu Arteritis?
Giant cell arteritis affects older patients who are generally over 50 years of age, while Takayasu arteritis affects younger patients who are generally less than 40 years of age. Therefore, this is the key difference between giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis. Furthermore, giant cell arteritis is more common in people of North European descent than in people of other races. On the other hand, Takayasu arteritis is more common in Japan in people of Mexican, Indian, and East Asian descent.
The below infographic presents the differences between giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Giant Cell Arteritis vs Takayasu Arteritis
Arteritis is the inflammation of the arteries. There are several types of arteritis, such as giant cell arteritis, Takayasu arteritis, and polyarteritis nodosa (PN). Giant cell arteritis affects older patients who are generally over 50 years of age. Takayasu arteritis affects younger patients who are generally less than 40 years of age. So, this summarizes the difference between giant cell arteritis and Takayasu arteritis.
Reference:
1. “Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA).” Versus Arthritis.
2.“Takayasu’s Arteritis: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Giant cell arteritis — low mag” By Nephron – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Takayasu arteritis” By Dr Laughlin Dawes – Radpod (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia