Polymyalgia rheumatica -- a clinical study with particular reference to arterial disease.

Abstract

The clinical and laboratory findings in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica are described and reviewed against a background of 59 cases. An increased incidence of the disease in summer and winter was noted. The necessity for a sedimentation rate of 50 mm/1 hour as a diagnostic criteria is questioned and the difficulties in management are discussed. The value of examining the vascular tree is emphasized, since vascular bruits and tenderness may be found which disappear with treatment. Viral antibody studies produced negative results. However, an arterial basis for the disease is confirmed by lymphocyte transformation studies. An hypothesis is suggested that an autoallergic reaction to an antigen in the internal elastic lamina may explain the clinical, biochemical and histological abnormalities.