arteritis, cranial

arteritis, cranial A serious disease characterized by inflammation of the walls of arteries, particularly those that supply blood to the head. Symptoms include headache, pain in the jaw when repetitively chewing, and tenderness of the scalp, usually over the inflamed arteries of the sides of the head (temporal area). Less specific symptoms include fatigue, low-grade fever, and weight loss. The muscle aching of polymyalgia rheumatica is seen in one-fourth of patients with cranial arteritis. When the arteries affected by cranial arteritis become inflamed, they can narrow to the degree that the blood flow through them is limited. This can cause serious deficiency of oxygen supply to the tissues that are normally supplied by these arteries. Deficient oxygenation of the eyes or brain can lead to impaired or double vision, blindness, or stroke. Patients with cranial arteritis are usually over 50 years of age. The disease is detected by a biopsy of an artery and treated with high dose cortisonerelated medications. Also known as temporal arteritis and giant cell arteritis. See also polymyalgia rheumatica.