Takayasu's arteritis

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a granulomatous large vessel vasculitis more common in India. We review recently published literature in this field over the past year. Multiple reports based on genetic data and studies in peripheral blood of patients with TA suggest perturbation of the Th17-IL17 axis in these patients, which may be amenable to targeted therapy. Abnormal pro-atherogenic lipid profiles in TA (increased LDL-C and Apo A1, decreased HDL-C and Apo-B) may drive disease process in TA. Clinically inactive TA at diagnosis has been shown to relapse and progress angiographically on follow-up. TA seems to be associated with poorer pregnancy outcomes. Recent papers on 18 fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiographic scoring of TA suggest the need to incorporate these techniques into clinical assessment tools to delineate the actual extent of vascular involvement in TA. Recent advances in therapeutics indicate that leflunomide may be an effective disease-modifying agent in TA, whereas a large retrospective French cohort suggests relatively safety and efficacy of biologic agents targeting tumour necrosis factor alpha or interleukin-6 in patients with TA.