British researchers studied the serum levels and distribution of myositis-associated autoantibodies (MAAs) in 551 patients previously diagnosed with juvenile myositis:
- 36% of patients had at least one positive MAA, and 13% had at least two,
- among the positives, there was a higher prevalence of overlapping myositis, as well as Raynaud’s syndrome and interstitial lung disease,
- treatment resistance and excess mortality were more frequently noted in the group with multiple MAAs.
This type of biomarker would therefore have an interesting prognostic value.
