Polymorphism at codon 129 was: MM 46.6%, methionine-valine 44.7%, valine-valine 8.7%. Polymorphism at codon 117 was observed in 4.8%. Deletions of octapeptide repeats were not detected. There were no gender or age differences in the distribution of codon 129 polymorphism. The frequency of codon 129 polymorphisms was, with one exception, not significantly different from that observed elsewhere in Europe.

In the summer of 2020, an elderly woman in her eighties sought medical attention due to headache and visual disturbances. The diagnosis was unclear, she became blind on both eyes and developed extended scalp necrosis. Later it was clear that these symptoms were due to accelerating symptoms of giant cell arteritis (GCA). GCA is one of the most common disease form of vasculitis and can have various symptoms. In this report, we describe a case of an advanced disease course, discuss the main symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.