Takayasu's arteritis: decrease in aortic wall thickening following steroid therapy, documented by CT

Abstract

Takayasu's arteritis is a well-known disease entity which most frequently affects the thoracic aorta and its branches. The wall of the aorta is thickened, and the degree of thickening may change during the course of the disease. Steroids are effective in treating the inflammatory process of the arteritis. The effect is usually manifested by improvements in laboratory data and symptoms. This is a report of an acute case of Takayasu's arteritis in which considerable decrease in aortic wall thickening followed steroid therapy is documented by computed tomography (CT).