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Robert S. Hepler, MD
Los Angeles

JAMA. 1970;214(7):1329.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

"Occult Temporal Arteritis," by Jose A. Gutrecht, MD, (213:1188, 1970) provides a useful reminder of the multiple manifestations, the potentially devastating consequences, and the initially subtle signs and symptoms in this important disease.

The article concludes with the statement: "An increased sedimentation rate must be followed by a temporal artery biopsy which will show the classic findings of a granulomatous, giant-cell arteritis." Unfortunately, this is not necessarily true, and this common misconception has led physicians to fail to treat cases which have terminated disastrously. As the references provided in Dr. Gutrecht's article (and many others) will indicate, the pathological involvement of arteries in temporal arteritis is segmental. Hence normal findings from biopsy of a superficial temporal artery does not rule out temporal arteritis, and abnormal findings are not required to strongly suspect the diagnosis.

In my own experience, and in that of others interested in neuro-ophthalmology, . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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