Orbital myositis is a rare non-granulomatous inflammatory process within the orbit. Grave's disease and lymphoproliferative disorders are considered the most common cause of orbital myositis. The idiopathic form should be considered after exclusion of known causes or associations. Isolated orbital myositis is a very rare form of this disease. We report a case of an isolated lateral rectus myosi...

Autoantibodies targeting intracellular proteins involved in key processes are detected in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. These myositis-specific autoantibodies have been increasingly demonstrated to correlate with distinct clinical phenotypes within the myositis spectrum. This review highlights the clinical associations of the myositis-specific autoantibodies, with particular...

BACKGROUND Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disorder, which has only rarely been reported to co-manifest with myositis. The diagnosis of concomitant myositis in patients with myasthenia gravis is clinically challenging, and requires targeted investigations for the differential diagnosis, including EMG, autoantibody assays, muscle biopsy and, importantly, imaging of the mediastin...

Introduction. Whilst there are reports of viral myopathies affecting children and the immunocompromised, infective myositis is a relatively rare inflammatory myopathy in adults. The clinical spectrum can range from benign myalgias to more serious complications in certain risk groups. Case Presentation. We present two cases of myositis as a result of parvovirus B19 infection. Conclusion. Viral m...

We report a rare case that developed orbital myositis before appearance of zoster rashes. A 54 year-old man came to our hospital with a 4-day history of left orbital shooting pain extending to left temporal area. Neurological examinations demonstrated mild left proptosis and hyperemic conjunctiva without ophthalmoplegia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed left orbital myositis and ...

Autoimmune myopathies (myositides) are strongly associated with malignancy. The link between myositis and cancer, originally noticed by Bohan and Peter in their classification in 1975 (1), has been evidenced by large population-based cohort studies and a recent meta-analysis. The numerous reports of cases in which the clinical course of myositis reflects that of cancer and the short delay betwe...

OBJECTIVE To devise new tools to assess activity and damage in patients with idiopathic myopathies (IIM). METHODS An international multidisciplinary consensus effort to standardize the conduct and reporting of the myositis clinical trials has been established. Two tools, known as the myositis intention to treat index (MITAX) and the myositis disease activity assessment visual analogue scale (...

Inflammatory myositis is reported in 4-16% of adult systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of myositis in a cohort of pediatric SLE patients in the southeastern United States. A retrospective chart review was performed of 55 SLE patients evaluated by Pediatric Rheumatologists in Alabama since January 1, 2008. Patients were defined as h...

Unique autoantibody specificities are strongly associated with distinct clinical phenotypes, making autoantibodies useful for diagnosis and prognosis. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this striking association, we examined autoantigen expression in normal muscle and in muscle from patients with autoimmune myositis. Although myositis autoantigens are expressed at very low levels in contr...

AIMS To investigate the association between scleritis and myositis. METHODS Retrospective, non-comparative case series. Records and ultrasonograms were examined of 132 patients, with a diagnosis of episcleritis or scleritis, who attended the ophthalmology department at Leiden University Medical Center between 1997 and 2000. 103 were eligible for comprehensive examination. Medical records were...