Calcification of the internal elastic membrane in temporal arteries: Its relation to age and gender

Objective To investigate the age and sex distribution of calcifications of the internal elastic membrane (IEM) in temporal arteries. Methods Calcifications of the IEM were assessed light-microscopically in te mporal arteries from 40 women and 21 men, aged 51 or more, who were known n ot to have giant cell arteritis (GCA). Their relation to age and the differ ence between women and men were tested statistically. Results The IEM calcifications differed morphologically from the calcificat ions in Monckeberg's mediosclerosis and atherosclerosis. They increased sig nificantly with age and were 2.62 times more common in women than men. Conclusion Previous morphological studies indicate that the inflammatory pr ocess in GCA is initiated by a foreign-body, giant-cell attack on calcifica tions of the IEM. The present study showed that IEM calcifications in non-G CA controls show an age and sex distribution similar to that of GCA morbidi ty. The results may indicate that the presence of IEM calcifications in the general population influences the age and sex distribution of GCA. Further more, the findings support the hypothesis that the calcifications, although not disease specific, may play a pathogenetic role in the latter.