Importance polymyalgia rheumatica pmr and giant cell arteritis gca are related inflammatory disorders occurring in persons aged 50 years and older diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are heterogeneous in clinical practice objective to summarize current evidence regarding optimal methods for diagnosing and treating pmr and gca. Polymyalgia rheumatica pmr and giant cell arteritis gca are closely related conditions of unknown etiology both are characterized by older age at onset being more common in women evidence of systemic inflammation and generally responding well to corticosteroids controversy remains as to whether they are two different conditions or two ends of the spectrum of a single disease few . Giant cell temporal arteritis and polymyalgia rheumatica are linked conditions that affect middle aged and older individuals these conditions are among the most common chronic inflammatory illnesses affecting the elderly in the last decade new insights have been gained about the clinical features of these illnesses and the underlying pathophysiologic processes causing them an increased . Polymyalgia rheumatica and giant cell arteritis are common closely related vasculitic conditions that almost exclusively occur in patients older than 50 years they may be manifestations of the