Development of outcome measures for large-vessel vasculitis for use in clinical trials: opportunities, challenges, and research agenda.

ABSTRACT: Giant cell (GCA) and Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) are 2 forms of large-vessel vasculitis (LVV) that involve the aorta and its major branches. GCA has a predilection for the cranial branches, while TAK tends to affect the extracranial branches. Both disorders may also cause nonspecific constitutional symptoms. Although some clinical features are more common in one or the other disorder and the ages of initial presentation differ substantially, there is enough clinical and histopathologic overlap between these disorders that some investigators suggest GCA and TAK may be 2 processes within the spectrum of a single disease. There have been few randomized therapeutic trials completed in GCA, and none in TAK. The lack of therapeutic trials in LVV is only partially explained by the rarity of these

SUBMITTER: Direskeneli H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3653638 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature