Is there a cure for GCA and PMR

[astley123]

suffering from GCA for six years with symptoms of PMR arriving later. All the posts I have read seem negative as to cures. So I will ask the question. Does anyone know anybody that has been cured of the illnesses or they have gone away of their own accord

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It depends on how you define it. There is no CURE in that there is nothing that will stop the underlying autoimmune disorder permanently. For the vast majority of patients the autoimmune part which underlies the symptoms does burn out on its own and go into remission and it is quite rare for GCA to relapse at some later date though it does happen. It is more common in PMR.

It is thought that the use of tocilizumab/Actemra to block the most common cause of the inflammation, production of the cytokine IL-6, may allow the immune system to reset itself and so the GCA also stops. Unfortunately, there are at least 3 mechanisms that cause inflammation in GCA and tocilizumab only works on one of them so if the others are involved, you may improve a lot but not get off pred altogether. And it also takes time - if the time you can have tocilizumab is limited, it may not be long enough.

There are lots of people whose GCA has gone away and they got off pred - jinasc and DoretLady amongst them. There are also people who had PMR who have recovered. However - most people who get off pred tend to go away and get on with living their lives.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

No cure as such, and as PMRpro says my GCA (no PMR) went into remission almost 6 years ago, jinasc even longer, SnazzyD not quite as long.

..and we are still around on forum, hopefully with positive stories to tell, but as stated many once in remission from either or both illness have a habit of leaving forum. Not all, but many.

[jinasc in reply to DorsetLady]

You are correct - me GCA Diagnosed Feb 2007 - last pred 1mg on 31st Dec 2010 and still counting.