Introduction Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDM) is the most common idiopathic inflammatory myopathy in childhood. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non invasive tool to assess muscular edema. Its ability to distinguish between active JDM patients and inactive and healthy children is well described in the literature. However muscle biopsy still remains the gold standard in JDM diagnosis. Major H...

Background: Statins frequently cause myopathy especially in combination with fibrates, and physical activity is considered a trigger for the muscle disorder. Elevated plasma levels of creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and aldolase, are the main indicators of the severity of myopathy. Carvedilol is commonly used with lipid-lowering drugs in the management of heart failure, hypert...

A 68-year-old man known to have inclusion body myositis underwent a cricopharyngeal myotomy in an attempt to improve his progressive dysphagia. Morphological studies from tissues obtained during this procedure showed the diagnostic features typical of this chronic inflammatory myopathy. To our knowledge this is the first pathological demonstration of inclusion body myositis involving the pharyn...

OBJECTIVE To review the metabolic encephalopathies and neuromuscular abnormalities commonly found in the critically ill patient in a two-part presentation. DATA SOURCES A review of articles reported from 1980 to 2002 and identified through a MEDLINE search on metabolic encephalopathy, polyneuropathy and myopathy in critical illness. SUMMARY OF REVIEW Severe weaknes in the critically ill pat...

Anti-synthetase syndrome is a relatively recently described auto-immune disease characterized by auto-antibodies to enzymes that acetylate transfer RNA (tRNA). Interstitial pulmonary disease and inflammatory myopathy are regular findings. Our patient also exhibited a lupus-like glomerulonephritis. An important clue was the presence of 'mechanics' hands. Nephrologists need to be aware of this sy...

Polymyositis is a systemic and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy that, besides muscle manifestation, may occur with respiratory involvement, gastrointestinal tract and rarely renal involvement. In this latter, there are only two cases of IgA nephropathy, but both in dermatomyositis. On the other hand, we reported, for the first time, a case of IgA nephropathy in polymyositis.

Polymyositis is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterised by inflammatory myopathy of the skeletal muscles predominantly affecting the proximal muscles and associated with extra-muscular manifestations like dysphagia and skin involvement. In this case report, we describe the occurrence of diaphragmatic weakness and respiratory failure due to polymyositis with relatively well preserved power ...

Polymyositis (PM) is a systemic disease of the idiopathic inflammatory myopathy group, clinically characterized by symmetric and proximal muscle weakness. There are reports in literature of PM associated with malignancies, autoimmune diseases, and viral infections. However, the association between PM and nephropathy is not common. We describe a case report of a patient with polymyositis who dev...

Cutaneous manifestations of dermatomyositis are generally grouped as pathognomonic, characteristic, compatible, less common and rare (Table 4). The primary lesion appears as a violaceous, macular erythema with a symmetric distribution. This may progress and become poikilodermatous (atrophic with telangiectasia and pigmentary changes) and indurated (as a result of mucin deposition). Pathognomoni...

Dermatomyositis is a chronic inflammatory myopathy with severe prognosis. A 57-year-old woman suffering from dermatomyositis is presented who, in the course of the disease, developed acute spontaneous esophageal rupture due to dermatomyositis involvement of the esophagus. She was successfully treated with total esophagectomy and stomach interposition. This is the first report of spontaneous rup...