Giant cell myocarditis
Overview
Giant cell myocarditis is a rare and severe form of myocarditis characterized by severe inflammation in the heart muscle. It happens when the immune system mistakenly attacks the heart, leading to damage and the buildup of large, abnormal cells called giant cells.
Common Symptoms
Heart palpitations, chest pain, shortness of breath, swollen ankles, extreme tiredness.
Coexisting Diseases and Conditions
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis, Takayasu’s arteritis, pernicious anemia, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis), discoid lupus erythematosus and autoimmune hepatitis.
Risk Factors and Prevalence
The condition is associated with other autoimmune diseases in approximately 20% of giant cell myocarditis cases. The incidence rate has been reported in 0.007-0.067% of populations worldwide, with less than 300 reported cases since its distinction from myocarditis in 1905.
Recent Research
- Inhibition of NETosis via PAD4 alleviated inflammation in giant cell myocarditis (2023)
- Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Mediated Lymphocytic and Giant Cell Myocarditis: Uncovering Etiological Mechanisms (2021)
- Giant cell myocarditis following COVID-19 successfully treated by immunosuppressive therapy (2022)
- Cardiac sarcoidosis and giant cell myocarditis after COVID-19 infection (2022)
Sources
- Sources
Gadela, N. V., et al. (2021). Giant cell myocarditis. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center), 34(3), 401–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/08998280.2021.1874775
Xiong, J., et al. GIANT CELL MYOCARDITIS. CHEST, Volume 166, Issue 4, A489
Bracamonte-Baran, W., & Čiháková, D. (2017). Cardiac Autoimmunity: Myocarditis. Advances in experimental medicine and biology, 1003, 187–221. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57613-8_10
Kandolin, R., et al. (2013). Diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of giant-cell myocarditis in the era of combined immunosuppression. Circulation. Heart failure, 6(1), 15–22. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.112.969261
Cooper, L. et al. (1997). Idiopathic giant-cell myocarditis–natural history and treatment. Multicenter Giant Cell Myocarditis Study Group Investigators. The New England journal of medicine, 336(26), 1860–1866. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199706263362603
Rosenstein, E. D., et al. (2000). Giant cell myocarditis: most fatal of autoimmune diseases. Seminars in arthritis and rheumatism, 30(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1053/sarh.2000.8367
Wakafuji, S., Okada, R., Twenty Year Autopsy Statistics of Myocarditis Incidence in Japan : THE 10th CONFERENCE ON THE 10th CONFERENCE ON PREVENTION FOR RHEUMATIC FEVER AND RHEUMATIC HEART DISEASE, JAPANESE CIRCULATION JOURNAL, 1986, Volume 50, Issue 12, Pages 1288-1293, Released on J-STAGE April 14, 2008, Online ISSN 1347-4839, Print ISSN 0047-1828, https://doi.org/10.1253/jcj.50.1288