TWO CASES OF TAKAYASU'S ARTERITIS AND TUBERCULOSIS

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that primarily affects the walls of large vessels. The presence of Langhan's giant cells and granulomas similar to those in tuberculous lesions in biopsy specimen described 60 years ago has implicated Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the pathogenesis of TA. It is reported that patients with TA have substantially higher tuberculin sensitivity or active tuberculosis (TB) than the general population. We present two cases that support this postulate.