Inflammatory myopathies
RSS feedThe presence of fever increases the risk of serious respiratory complications in inflammatory myopathies
Chinese researchers analyzed a series of 79 patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, distinguishing between those with prolonged fever at the initial stage of their disease and those who remained apyretic: in the febrile group, there was a higher frequency of cutaneous signs (mechanic’s hand) and respiratory complications (acute interstitial lung disease), all occurring in patients … [Read more]
Towards a better assessment of calcinosis associated with certain cases of dermatomyositis
Dermatomyositis is accompanied, in a significant number of cases, and most often in the medium to long term, by para-articular calcifications (calcinosis). The pathophysiology of calcinosis remains poorly understood. American researchers at the NIH studied it quantitatively and qualitatively using whole-body CT scans: 31 patients were included in this prospective study, including 14 adults with … [Read more]
Anti-CD19 CAR-T cells effective in refractory anti-Jo1 antisynthetase syndrome: two German experiments
Two German teams report on their successful CAR-T cell treatment of refractory anti-Jo1-associated antisynthetase syndrome in two patients. A first case reported by a team from Erlangen After an initial transient worsening (myalgia, CPK 13,600 U/L, fever for 3 days), the 41-year-old man’s condition quickly improved. Three months after the injection of CAR-T cells: lesions … [Read more]
Retinal anomalies in inflammatory myopathies are frequent and should not be overlooked
Indian and British researchers studied these phenomena by subjecting the patient cohort named MyoCite to a battery of ophthalmological tests. 43 adults with inflammatory myopathy, mainly dermatomyositis, were included in the study, Retinal abnormalities (vessel pallor, accentuated tortuosity, etc.) were noted in almost half of the patients, regardless of the type of myositis. They were … [Read more]
Inflammatory myopathies: a review of mouse models
Classical mouse models of experimental myositis were developed by immunising the animal with muscle-specific antigens, myosin or skeletal C protein. More recently, new mouse models of myositis with specific antibodies have emerged and will help to better understand the role of these myositis-specific antibodies: a model of the anti-synthetase syndrome was obtained by immunisation with … [Read more]
The value of myostatin measurement in the follow-up of inflammatory myopathies
Measuring the activity of an inflammatory pathology such as inclusion myositis or autoimmune necrotizing myopathy is not easy. Researchers at the Institute of Myology in Paris have investigated the hypothesis that the determination of myostatin, a muscle growth inhibitory factor, may be useful in this context: ELISA assays for myostatin and complementary measurement of the … [Read more]
Positive anti-FHL1 antibodies in certain inflammatory myopathies
Australian and Swedish researchers have studied the immunological profile of patients with normal inflammatory myopathies (274) or scleroderma (174) and compared them with those of 100 control participants. The presence of autoantibodies directed against FHL1, a protein with four and a half LIM domains, already implicated in an X-linked hereditary myopathy, was more specifically sought. … [Read more]
Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: links between interstitial lung disease and myositis-specific autoantibodies
One of the most common extramuscular manifestations of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies is interstitial lung disease. In addition, the diagnosis of IMI includes the search for myositis-specific autoantibodies. In this study, a team of French researchers and clinicians involving experts from the institute, included 257 patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies followed between 2003 and 2019. After … [Read more]
