Takayasu Arteritis

Takayasu arteritis is a rare chronic inflammatory disease of the aorta and its major branches, most often affecting young women. Granulomatous inflammation thickens and narrows the vessel walls, producing stenosis, occlusion or aneurysm formation. The disease was first fully described by the Japanese ophthalmologist Mikito Takayasu in 1908 after he observed unusual wreath-like vessel changes in the eye of a patient, and it was historically also called pulseless disease or aortic arch syndrome because reduced blood flow through the affected arteries can leave the pulse in the arms weak or absent. Diagnosis relies on imaging of the aorta and its branches, and treatment centers on corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs to control inflammation, with surgery or angioplasty used for severe narrowing.