Large vessel vasculitis

Abstract

Large vessel vasculitis describes a group of primary vasculitides predominantly affecting the aorta and its major branches. The two major subtypes of large vessel vasculitis are giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu arteritis (TA), which have distinctive features. GCA occurs predominantly in white European women aged above 50 years, while TA affects women below 40 years from the Middle East and Asia. However, there are many similarities between GCA and TA, particularly in pathogenic mechanisms, histopathology, and clinical manifestations related to large vessel involvement. It remains unclear whether GCA and TA are distinct entities or represent different phenotypes of the same disease.