Management of polymyalgia rheumatica and large vessel vasculitis

Imaging methods, such as joint and color duplex sonography, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) nowadays facilitate the diagnosis of polymyalgia rheumatica and large vessel vasculitides and have now been included in the new classification criteria. In patients with typical symptoms, color duplex sonography of the temporal artery can replace a biopsy of the temporal artery for the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis (GCA); however, the role of these methods for patient follow-up and assessment of prognosis is unclear. Polymyalgia rheumatica is treated with glucocorticoids (GC) in an initial dosage of up to 20 mg per day. In patients with large vessel vasculitis higher doses are needed for induction of remission. Furthermore, the rate of relapse and GC-related adverse events are higher in GCA and Takayasu arteritis (TA). Thus, initial GC-sparing treatment with methotrexate or other immunosuppressants is recommended. Recent study data show an effectiveness of biologics. Recent data of the first placebo-controlled proof of concept trials showed that the interleukin-6 antagonist tocilizumab reduces GC requirements and relapse rates in patients with GCA and polymyalgia rheumatica. Both ustekinumab, a monocalonal antibody against interleukin-12/23p40 and the CTLA-4 immunoglobulin abatacept appeared to be effective in recent pilot trials for GCA. Antibodies against tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) were ineffective for polymyalgia rheumatica and GCA in placebo-controlled trials but data from open label studies suggested some efficacy in refractory TA.