Polimialgia Reumatica A Brief Rundown

Polimialgia reumatica and giant cell arteritis (GCA) are both overlapping inflammatory rheumatic diseases whose causes have not been identified. They share some clinical features and happen in adults over the age of 50 years old. In the United States of America and the United Kingdom it is estimated the annual incidence of GCA is 188 to 220 cases per one million people. For polimialgia reumatica the annual incidence varies from 120-1120 per million depending on the country of choice.

Giant cell arterits on average is an easier diagnosis to come to than polimialgia reumatica. A painful new type of headache is the most tell tale sign of gca. Blood testing will often show elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and high C-reactive protein levels. Something that must be noted is a consequence of GCA that is visual loss, which unfortunately occurs in fifteen percent of all cases. For this reason GCA is treated as a rheumatologic emergency. Other symptoms that may be experienced include tingling of the tongue or lips which results from decreased blood to the head from inflamed blood vessels. Upon further testing it can be found that half of GCA sufferers have their main arteries also inflamed throughout the body.

Polimialgia reumatica on the other hand presents with stiffness and aching of the neck, shoulders and hips. Associated with this by one third of patients is weight loss, fever and mental disturbances like depression. There may be no known cause for the onset. The symptoms may appear almost overnight or develop over a period of a few days. Although pain and stiffness may feel like they are originating in the joints or bones, that is not the case. Polimialgia reumatica only affects the muscles or the muscle attachment to the bone called the tendon. It is usually present on both sides of the body. Often a final diagnosis may take some time as other conditions such as neurological, hormonal and endocrine are ruled out.

Polimialgia reumatica and GCA are both commonly treated with corticosteroids. With the desired treatment regime achieving as low a dose as possible as soon as can be done. Because of the fear of drug toxicity it is desirable to achieve the lowest dose that will still provide maximum symptomatic relief. At this present time there is no best method to achieve this other than a little experimentation on the patient. It is common for a high or medium dose to be initially given then see how the patient responds then lower the dose and continue to carefully monitor the patient.

About half of polimialgia reumatica sufferers and 1/3rd of GCA sufferers will have a reappearance of their symptoms within the first year of treatment when their medication is lowered. This is associated with lowering medication below seven and a half mg per day.

In conjunction with a medical approach some sufferers of polimialgia reumatica have benefit from lifestyle and dietary changes and nutritional supplements. Trying to reduce the amount of stress in your life and promoting a calm and relaxing mind can benefit some individuals. Improving your diet and decreasing the amount of processed foods that you eat and increasing the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables can only be beneficial to helping your body cope with both these disorders. Also the addition of natural supplements that are aimed at reducing inflammation can help.