A rare case of Mönckeberg medial calcific sclerosis simulating giant cell arteritis

Abstract

Background: Mönckeberg Medial Calcific Sclerosis (MMCS) is a rare condition that can mimic giant cell arteritis (GCA). It may be misinterpreted as giant cell arteritis by the clinician and cause unnecessary treatments. Therefore, it is a disease that should be differentiated from giant cell arteritis with its clinical, radiological, and pathological findings.
 Case Presentation: A 56-year-old female patient was admitted to our clinic with sudden unilateral vision loss on the right, pain in the right temporal artery trace, scalp sensitivity in the section corresponding to that area, difficulty chewing, and temporal artery sensitivity. He had a history of hemodialysis for 13 years due to hypertension, osteoporosis, a history of renal stones, and end-stage renal failure. In routine blood tests, White Blood Cell: 7.86X109/L, Hemoglobulin: 10.9 g/dL, C-reactive protein: 3.03 mg/L, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate: 53 mm/hour came. As a result of temporal artery biopsy performed for GCA, absence of giant cells, absence of epithelioid histiocytes, absence of pathological findings in the internal elastic lamina, diffuse calcification in the tunica media, and sclerosis was diagnosed as MMCS. 
 Conclusions: In the literature, 4 case reports resemble giant cell arteritis and are diagnosed as MMCS. This case report is a rare case report showing that MMCS can completely mimic GCA findings.