Takayasu's Arteritis

The manifestations of Takayasu's arteritis of the aorta were studied in 84 patients. The extent of the involvement of the aorta was classified on aortographic examination in 54 patients and from the clinical manifestations in 30. Involvement of the aorta was classified as: (1) arch type in 47 cases; (2) extensive type (whole aorta and its branches involved) in 27 cases; and (3) descending thoracic and abdominal type (only descending thoracic and abdominal aortas involved) in 10 cases. The three types resembled one another in clinical manifestations and laboratory findings except for ischemic signs which varied with the type of lesion and a slight difference in the ratio of male to female patients. Generalized, cardiac and pulmonary symptoms were noted by about two thirds of the patients in the early stage. About one third complained of local pain. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein were high values during the active stage of this disease. The hemagglutination test using tannic acid-treated erythrocytes was positive in five of seven cases. It is not clear yet that circulating anti-arterial antibodies are the direct cause of Takayasu's arteritis.