The role of parvovirus B19 in the pathogenesis of giant cell arteritis - Apreliminary evaluation

Objective. To determine whether parvovirus B19 DNA is more likely to be pre sent in the temporal arteries of patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) t han in the temporal arteries of control subjects. Methods. We prospectively examined temporal artery biopsy (TAB) tissue from 50 consecutive patients presenting for TAB for the presence of B19 DNA usi ng the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Clinical and demographic informatio n was obtained from the patients' medical records. A separate PCR analysis of 30 original tissue specimens was conducted at the Centers for Disease Co ntrol and Prevention (CDC) using primers directed toward another target seq uence in the nonstructural coding area of B19. Results. The 50 patients had an average age of 70.8 years; 27 (54%) were fe male. Amplicons for human beta-globulin, but not for cytomegalovirus, were produced for all tissue samples. The PCR results for B19 agreed in 29 of 30 samples tested by our institution and by the CDC (97% agreement; kappa = 0 .9). A comparison of the B19 DNA analysis and the results of TAB indicated a statistically significant association between histologic evidence of GCA and the presence of B19 DNA in TAB tissue (chi(2) = 10.38, P = 0.0013). Conclusion. These findings suggest that B19 may play a role in the pathogen esis of GCA.