Temporal arteritis in Israel. A review of 47 patients

The charts of 47 patients with biopsy proven temporal arteritis, hospitalized in 9 major hospitals in Israel were reviewed. The age of onset and clinical manifestations of this disease in Israel are similar to those reported from other parts of the world. The disease is more frequent (> x 3) in Ashkenazi than in Sephardic Jews and only 1 patient was Arab. More than half of the patients (20/32) had laboratory evidence of liver damage reversible with treatment. Follow-up of 19 of these patients revealed that the treatment with corticosteroids was continued in most patients for more than 2 years.