Takayasu arteritis: clinical characteristics and the role of genetic factors in its pathogenesis.

Takayasu arteritis is a chronic vasculitis, the aetiology of which is still unknown. Several characteristic clinical manifestations have led scientists to consider the possibility of the genetic factors in the aetiology, conjecture which is supported by HLA analysis. Recent attention has focused on the different clinical manifestations among Asian and South American countries and further progress is likely to stem from international network studies.