Introduction Polymyositis occurring in patients over the age of 40 years is associated with a high incidence of malignancy (Pearson and Currie, 1974). The tumour is most frequently a carcinoma arising from the bronchus, prostate, breast, ovary, uterus or gastrointestinal tract but may remain undiagnosed in spite of extensive investigations (Pearson and Currie, 1974). The authors wish to report ...

An additional disorder in the spectrum of thyroid related muscle disease is presented. Hypothyroid and hyperthyroid disease are both associated with a variety of muscle abnormalities, from myalgias to myopathy. Polymyositis, however, has never been reported immediately after treatment for active hyperthyroidism. A patient is presented with typical hyperthyroidism, who developed a severe proxima...

The family of conditions which comprise the polymyositis group have been clarified only in recent years and the syndrome has been extensively reviewed by Walton and Adams (1958), Pearson and Rose (1960), Barwick and Walton (1963), and Pearson (1964). There is now increasing awareness that many cases of polymyositis are to be found in association with diseases of connective tissue. However, the ...

Polymyositis is a rare and gradually progressive autoimmune disease of skeletal muscle. Two main types of renal involvement have been described: acute tubular necrosis related to rhabdomyolysis and glomerulonephritis. However, cases of overflow proteinuria related to polymyositis have rarely been reported. Herein, we report a case of a 41-year-old male who presented with edema of both lower ext...

BACKGROUND Cotton wool spots are known to be a complication in patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura or with polymyositis. CASE A 53-year-old woman developed numerous cotton wool spots around the optic disc of both eyes. OBSERVATIONS Fluorescein angiography disclosed capillary obstruction and microaneurysms in the early phase, followed by dye leakage in the late phase. Systemica...

Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage is a lethal cause of acute abdomen that is most frequently related to drugs, coagulopathy and intra-abdominal tumors. In patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis, acute abdomen is attributed to intestinal vasculitis causing ischemia, ulceration or perforation. Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage, however, has rarely been reported in patients with ...

The association between interstitial lung disease and polymyositis/dermatomyositis is well known. It severely affects patients' quality of life, worsens prognosis and represents a major risk factor for premature death. Current treatment is unclear and therapeutic options are based on case series. We report the case of a 15-year old female diagnosed with end-stage lung disease associated to poly...

We describe a unique presentation of polymyositis-associated pneumonitis. A 45-year-old man with a history of polymyositis presented with an episode of fever, cough, dyspnea, rapidly progressive respiratory failure, and unilateral pulmonary infiltrates. Although bacterial pneumonia was initially suspected, all cultures, including bronchoalveolar cultures, remained negative, and the patient's co...

OBJECTIVE To analyze the prevalence of myositis-specific and myositis-associated autoantibodies and their clinical correlations in a large series of patients with dermatomyositis/polymyositis. METHOD This cross-sectional study enrolled 127 dermatomyositis cases and 95 polymyositis cases. The disease-related autoantibody profiles were determined using a commercially available blood testing kit...