Takayasu's Arteritis and Crohn's Disease in a Young Hispanic Female

Abstract

Takayasu's arteritis (TA) and Crohn's disease (CD) are chronic inflammatory granulomatous disorders of undetermined etiology. TA is a large vessel vasculitis with a predilection for the aorta and its branches in young women of Asian descent; whereas CD has characteristic gastrointestinal manifestations more prevalent in young Caucasians. We describe a case of both diseases in a young Hispanic female, review the literature, and impart new insight on possible genetic linkage and the role of interleukin 12 B (IL-12B) as the common autoimmune mechanism and potential therapeutic target in this rare disease combination.

Figure 1

Magnetic resonance angiogram of chest and abdomen: severe irregularity and narrowing of the descending thoracic aorta. The subclavian arteries were not visualized in their entirety bilaterally during the initial imaging.

Figure 2

Follow-up thoracic and abdominal angiogram 14 months later: severe tapering of the subclavian arteries bilaterally, narrowing, and irregularity of distal aorta. The ascending aorta measured 2.5 cm whereas the distal thoracic aorta measured only 1.2 cm in diameter and tapered to 7.5 mm transversely at the narrowest point just beyond the aortic hiatus.