Metastasis in the temporal bone mimicking temporal arteritis.

This report describes a 72-year-old female patient with a previous history of cured breast cancer who presented with acute monocular visual disturbances, intense unilateral headache, painful temporal artery palpation, high erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and pain and weakness of the femoral muscles. These symptoms and signs were suggestive of temporal arteritis, but the finding of the temporal artery biopsy was negative, and the patient did not respond to corticosteroid treatment. Later, whole body bone scintigraphy revealed dissemination of malignancy throughout her skeleton including the skull. To our knowledge, this is the first report to show that a metastasis in the temporal bone can closely mimic temporal arteritis.

Female patients tend to alter their diet following the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer and rheumatoid arthritis are common diseases which change everyday life among women. This study investigated the beliefs and attitudes of female patients regarding diet and their need for dietary counseling in relation to years since diagnosis, age, and education. METHODS: Breast cancer (BC) patients were compared to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with a validated questionnaire. Logistic regression models were used to adjust for the differences in demographic patient characteristics between BC and RA. In addition, the influence of demographic variables was studied further in the BC and RA groups, separately or combined. chi(2) testing was used to analyze the associations between demographic and dietary variables. RESULTS: Eight percent of BC patients and 40% of RA patients considered diet a factor contributing to their disease (P < 0.0001). Thirty percent of BC patients and 51% of those with RA reported having changed their diet after their diagnosis (P = 0.0003, chi(2)). The patients with RA had a 3.9 times higher assumption on the diet and disease connection compared to breast cancer patients (OR = 3.92, P = 0.002). Longer (>5 years) time to diagnosis increased the probability 2.6 times. The main reason for the change in diet was the desire for cure. The main changes reported included reduced consumption of animal fat, sugar, and red meat and increased consumption of fruit and vegetables. The source of information was most commonly the mass media and a need for more information on dietary factors relating to disease was expressed. CONCLUSIONS: We observed the patients to express an interest in alternative dietary habits, with the focus on a healthier diet. The lack of precise dietary recommendations for individual disease situations was expressed strongly and patients depended on information from outside their treatment center.