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Giant Cell Arteritis

Adding tocilizumab to tapered glucocorticoid therapy in patients with giant-cell arteritis (GCA) led to higher rates of sustained remission at 52 weeks than placebo plus tapered glucocorticoid therapy, according to the results of the phase 3, randomized, double-blind, 52-week, placebo-controlled GiACTA (GCA Actemra) trial.

One of the earliest observations of giant-cell arteritis (GCA) occurred in the 10th century when oculist ‘Alī ibn ‘Īsā al-Kahhal noted an association between inflamation of the temporal artery and blindness in his book, Tadhkirat.1 GCA is categorized as a large-vessel vasculitis targeting large- and medium-sized blood vessels, and the most feared complication associated with the disease is visual loss from cranial arteritis.

Treatment with abatacept plus a prednisone taper significantly reduced the rate of relapse and improved duration of remission compared with placebo in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) who achieved remission with abatacept plus prednisone.

Tocilizumab treatment weekly or every other week for 52 weeks with a 26-week prednisone taper was superior to a short and long course of tapered prednisone treatment in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA).

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