Skip to main content
PMC home page
Canadian Medical Association Journal logoLink to Canadian Medical Association Journal
. 1985 Mar 15;132(6):649–653.

Clinical and serologic features of patients with polymyositis or dermatomyositis

Daniel J Holden, A Keith W Brownell, Marvin J Fritzler
PMCID: PMC1345785  PMID: 3872156

Abstract

The clinical and serologic features of 36 patients with polymyositis (PM) or dermatomyositis (DM) were observed over a 5-year period. The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 48.5 years, and 61% were female. According to widely accepted diagnostic criteria 50% had PM (group I), 14% DM (group II), 11% PM or DM associated with malignant disease (group III) and 25% PM or DM associated with a connective tissue disorder (group V). None of the patients had childhood PM or DM associated with vasculitis (group IV). All the patients had muscle weakness, and 94% of the patients tested had an elevated serum level of creatine kinase. The average delay from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 14 months overall but only 2.3 months for the DM patients. Of the 30 patients whose serum was tested, 73% had antinuclear antibodies, with antibodies to nuclear ribonucleoprotein being most common in group V patients and antibodies directed against the Jo-1 antigen being restricted to patients with PM alone (group I).

Full text

PDF
650

Images in this article

652Fig. 1
on p.652

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aarden L. A., de Groot E. R., Feltkamp T. E. Immunology of DNA. III. Crithidia luciliae, a simple substrate for the determination of anti-dsDNA with the immunofluorescence technique. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1975 Jun 30;254:505–515. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1975.tb29197.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barnes B. E., Mawr B. Dermatomyositis and malignancy. A review of the literature. Ann Intern Med. 1976 Jan;84(1):68–76. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-84-1-68. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bohan A., Peter J. B., Bowman R. L., Pearson C. M. Computer-assisted analysis of 153 patients with polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Medicine (Baltimore) 1977 Jul;56(4):255–286. doi: 10.1097/00005792-197707000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Bohan A., Peter J. B. Polymyositis and dermatomyositis (first of two parts). N Engl J Med. 1975 Feb 13;292(7):344–347. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197502132920706. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Callen J. P., Hyla J. F., Bole G. G., Jr, Kay D. R. The relationship of dermatomyositis and polymyositis to internal malignancy. Arch Dermatol. 1980 Mar;116(3):295–298. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. DeVere R., Bradley W. G. Polymyositis: its presentation, morbidity and mortality. Brain. 1975 Dec;98(4):637–666. doi: 10.1093/brain/98.4.637. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Fritzler M. J., Tan E. M. Antibodies to histones in drug-induced and idiopathic lupus erythematosus. J Clin Invest. 1978 Sep;62(3):560–567. doi: 10.1172/JCI109161. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hull F. M. Social class consultation patterns in rural general practice. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1969 Aug;18(85):65–71. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. McFarlane A. H., O'Connell B. P. Morbidity in family practice. Can Med Assoc J. 1969 Sep 6;101(5):259–263. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Medsger T. A., Jr, Dawson W. N., Jr, Masi A. T. The epidemiology of polymyositis. Am J Med. 1970 Jun;48(6):715–723. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9343(70)80006-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Reichlin M., Maddison P. J., Targoff I., Bunch T., Arnett F., Sharp G., Treadwell E., Tan E. M. Antibodies to a nuclear/nucleolar antigen in patients with polymyositis overlap syndromes. J Clin Immunol. 1984 Jan;4(1):40–44. doi: 10.1007/BF00915286. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Reichlin M., Mattioli M. Description of a serological reaction characteristic of polymyositis. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1976 Jan;5(1):12–20. doi: 10.1016/0090-1229(76)90145-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Riddoch D., Morgan-Hughes J. A. Prognosis in adult polymyositis. J Neurol Sci. 1975 Sep;26(1):71–80. doi: 10.1016/0022-510x(75)90115-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Rose A. L., Walton J. N. Polymyositis: a survey of 89 cases with particular reference to treatment and prognosis. Brain. 1966 Dec;89(4):747–768. doi: 10.1093/brain/89.4.747. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Sharp G. C., Irvin W. S., Tan E. M., Gould R. G., Holman H. R. Mixed connective tissue disease--an apparently distinct rheumatic disease syndrome associated with a specific antibody to an extractable nuclear antigen (ENA). Am J Med. 1972 Feb;52(2):148–159. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(72)90064-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Yoshida S., Akizuki M., Mimori T., Yamagata H., Inada S., Homma M. The precipitating antibody to an acidic nuclear protein antigen, the Jo-1, in connective tissue diseases. A marker for a subset of polymyositis with interstitial pulmonary fibrosis. Arthritis Rheum. 1983 May;26(5):604–611. doi: 10.1002/art.1780260505. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Medical Association Journal are provided here courtesy of Canadian Medical Association

RESOURCES