Albayda et al. describes a North American cohort of patients with dermatomyositis, reporting that small ubiquitin-like modifier activating enzyme (SAE) autoantibodies are clearly associated with this clinical disease. Patients with this clinical phenotype most commonly present with a rash first, followed by muscle involvement.... [Read More]
In July, the FDA approved the use of Octagam 10%, an intravenous immunoglobulin solution, to treat dermatomyositis in adults after an international study demonstrated the treatment’s safety and efficacy.... [Read More]
Experts provided an update on juvenile dermatomyositis, discussing patient care, treatment options and the pathogenesis of disease.... [Read More]
(Reuters Health)—Young and middle-aged adults with polymyositis-dermatomyositis are more likely to have arrhythmias in general, and supraventricular arrhythmias in particular, than matched controls without these rare rheumatic conditions, a U.S. study suggests.1 Researchers examined retrospective data on adults hospitalized between 2016 and 2018, including 32,085 patients with polymyositis-dermatomyositis and 320,850 age-matched controls. Overall, both women… [Read More]
Dermatomyositis is an uncommon autoimmune condition involving skeletal muscle characterized by subacute onset of progressive weakness, intramuscular inflammatory infiltrates and the presence of myositis-specific autoantibodies.1 Immune-mediated myopathies may exert some pathogenic effects on the muscle tissue by targeting the microvasculature.1 Capillary inflammation, fragility and loss may contribute to heightened bleeding events in these patients. Here,… [Read More]
Dermatomyositis (DM) is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy involving proximal muscle weakness and skin rash. An associated increased risk of malignancy is well established.1 The most frequent malignancies are related to the ovary, endometrium, lung, gastrointestinal tract, prostate, breast and lymphatics.2 On rare occasions, DM has been reported with certain types of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, specifically cutaneous… [Read More]
Clinically amyotrophic dermatomyositis (CADM), a subset of dermatomyositis (DM), is a rare autoimmune disease characterized by typical DM cutaneous findings (e.g., heliotrope rash, Gottron papules, Gottron sign) without evidence of myositis.1 The incidence of DM and CADM is approximately 9.63 per 1 million people and 2.08 per 1 million people, respectively.2 The association with development… [Read More]
Interstitial lung disease accompanied by anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 positive dermatomyositis is often rapidly progressive and associated with poor prognosis. In this study, a combined immunosuppressive regimen of high-dose glucocorticoids, tacrolimus and intravenous cyclophosphamide proved more effective than treatment with high-dose glucocorticoids and stepwise addition of an immunosuppressant in a historical control group.... [Read More]
A proof-of-concept study including 10 patients treated for dermatomyositis with tofacitinib, an FDA-approved drug for RA and psoriatic arthritis, shows strong clinical efficacy…... [Read More]
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—A European working group has formulated consensus-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) with the goal of producing a “standard of care” for patients with JDM throughout Europe. The group is part of a European initiative called SHARE [Single Hub and Access point for pediatric Rheumatology in Europe]… [Read More]