Aortic intimal fold in Takayasu arteritis causing obstruction of left coronary ostium

Portal hypertension: an uncommon clinical manifestation of Takayasu arteritis in a 9-year-old child

Takayasu arteritis (TA) is the third most common childhood vasculitis and its clinical manifestations depend on the arteries involved. We report a case of a 9-year-old boy with multiple aneurysms in carotid and iliac arteries, subclavian and coronary arteries, and abdominal aorta. At the age of 7 years, he presented with recurrent fever and hepatosplenomegaly. An angio-computed tomography scan showed aneurysms in the left subclavian artery, abdominal aorta, and both proximal iliac arteries. He was diagnosed with TA and was treated with corticosteroids, aspirin, and enalapril. One year later, he was admitted to Dr Roberto Gilbert Children's Hospital because of intracranial hemorrhage. Angiography revealed enlargement of aneurysms enlargement and new aneurysms. He also developed portal hypertension. Treatment with intravenous corticosteroids, azathioprine, and monthly intravenous cyclophosphamide was begun. After 6 months of no improvement, infliximab was begun. The aim of this article was to report the concurrence of coronary involvement and portal vein hypertension in pediatric TA because there were scarce reports on this matter.

Non-invasive imaging of vascular inflammation

In large-vessel vasculitides, inflammatory infiltrates may cause thickening of the involved arterial vessel wall leading to progressive stenosis and occlusion. Dilatation, aneurysm formation, and thrombosis may also ensue. Activated macrophages and T lymphocytes are fundamental elements in vascular inflammation. The amount and density of the inflammatory infiltrate is directly linked to local disease activity. Additionally, patients with autoimmune disorders have an increased cardiovascular (CV) risk compared with age-matched healthy individuals as a consequence of accelerated atherosclerosis. Molecular imaging techniques targeting activated macrophages, neovascularization, or increased cellular metabolic activity can represent effective means of non-invasive detection of vascular inflammation. In the present review, novel non-invasive imaging tools that have been successfully tested in humans will be presented. These include contrast-enhanced ultrasonography, which allows detection of neovessels within the wall of inflamed arteries; contrast-enhanced CV magnetic resonance that can detect increased thickness of the arterial wall, usually associated with edema, or mural enhancement using T2 and post-contrast T1-weighted sequences, respectively; and positron emission tomography associated with radio-tracers such as [¹⁸F]-fluorodeoxyglucose and the new [¹¹C]-PK11195 in combination with computed tomography angiography to detect activated macrophages within the vessel wall. Imaging techniques are useful in the diagnostic work-up of large- and medium-vessel vasculitides, to monitor disease activity and the response to treatments. Finally, molecular imaging targets can provide new clues about the pathogenesis and evolution of immune-mediated disorders involving arterial vessels.