J Appl Biomed 17:20, 2019 | DOI: 10.32725/jab.2018.005

Takayasu arteritis - epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment

Dominika Podgórska^1,*, Rafał Podgórski^2,3, David Aebisher⁴, Piotr Dąbrowski¹

¹ Clinical Provincial Hospital No. 2, Department of Rheumatology, Rzeszów, Poland

² University of Rzeszów, Centre for Medical and Natural Sciences Research and Innovation, Rzeszów, Poland

³ University of Rzeszów, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry, Rzeszów, Poland

⁴ University of Rzeszów, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Human Immunology, Rzeszów, Poland

Takayasu disease belongs to the group of autoimmune vasculitis which most often affects the aorta and its branches. It is rare, and it mainly affects young women. Recent epidemiologic studies suggest that Takayasu arteritis is being increasingly recognized in Europe. The first symptoms are non-specific and an early diagnosis is difficult and requires clinical awareness and suspicion. Patients with Takayasu arteritis often present increased inflammatory markers, including C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, but systemic inflammatory response does not always show a positive correlation with inflammatory activity in the vessel wall. Therefore, imaging studies play a principal role in diagnosis and control of the disease. Glucocorticoids remain the most effective and serve as a cornerstone first line treatment. Immunosuppressive drugs play an important role as well, and biological therapy is increasingly being included in the treatment. This article describes the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnostics and treatment of this rare disease, so as to alert clinicians because disease left untreated can lead to narrowing and even closure of vital blood vessels. The most common Takayasu arteritis complications include pulmonary thrombosis, aortic regurgitation, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular events, vision degeneration or blindness, and hearing problems.

Keywords: Autoimmune vasculitis; Inflammatory markers; Large vessel vasculitis; Takayasu arteritis

Conflicts of interest:

The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.

Received: November 6, 2018; Accepted: November 7, 2018; Prepublished online: January 9, 2019; Published: March 19, 2019  Show citation