Polymyalgia rheumatica

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The most typical symptom is pain and stiffness in both shoulders and the neck. This pain usually progresses to the hips, and there isfatigue too. It becomes more and more difficult for patients to get around.

Other symptoms include:

• Anemia
• Appetite loss, which leads to unintentional weight loss
• Depression
• Fever

There are no specific joint symptoms.

Some people with PMR also have giant cell arteritis. This far more serious disease can cause:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Sudden blindness

Lab tests cannot diagnose polymyalgia rheumatica. However, most patients with this condition have an elevated sedimentation rate (ESR), a blood test that can show certain kinds of inflammation.

Other test results for this condition (as well as for giant cell arteritis) include:

• Abnormal proteins in the blood
• Abnormal white blood cells
• Reduced hemoglobin and hematocrit
• Signs of anemia

These tests may also be used to monitor patients' progress.

Review Date: 02/03/2011
Reviewed By: Michael E. Makover, MD, professor attending in Rheumatology at the New York University Medical Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).

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