What Is Giant Cell Arteritis?
2. Causes
Understanding the cause of illnesses helps in the development of treatments and preventative measures. The more information we have about conditions, the better able we become at handling them. With GCA, the causes are however not clear. To some extent, this condition has been found to have a genetic component. This means specific groups are more likely to be affected.
When blood vessels are inflamed, they swell up and develop narrower passages. This means less blood gets to where it is supposed to go. The reasons behind these inflammations, and why it predominantly happens to the temporal arteries of the head is unknown. There is however some suggestion that prolonged use of some antibiotic medications could be linked. Its rarity amongst those younger than 50 years could also make it age-related.
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