INFORMATION ON POLYMYOSITIS

Polymyositis are a group of muscle diseases that involving inflammation of the muscles or associated tissues, such as the blood vessels that supply the muscles. polymyositis is a muscle disease, and inflammation is a response to cell damage. polymyositis, inflammatory cells surround, invade, and destroy normal muscle fibers as though they were defective or foreign to the body. The inflammatory process leads to destruction of muscle tissue, and is accompanied by weakness and sometimes pain. This muscle weakness is usually symmetrical and develops slowly over weeks to months or even years.

SYNONYMS OF POLYMYOSITIS

idiopathic Polymyositis,
Dermatomyositis,
Inclusion body myositis,
Virus-mediated muscle injury,
Microvascular insult,
Collagen vascular disease

CAUSES OF POLYMYOSITIS

Main causes of Polymyositis are

1 immune system responds in a harmful manner to the rest of the body.
2 viral illness causes.
3 genetic predisposition
4 Coxsackie B virus.

SYMPTOMS OF POLYMYOSITIS

The following are the main symptoms of Polymyositis are:

1. Weakness of muscle function.
2. Abnormal activities of certain white blood cells may be involved in the cause of both the skin and the muscle disease.
3. Inflammatory muscle disease in children can be characterized as either acute or chronic in nature
4. Weakness of the knee extensor muscle, wrist and finger flexor muscles are common.

DIAGNOSIS OF POLYMYOSITIS

The main clinical features for diagnosis of inclusion body myositis are:

Duration of illness greater than six months
Age of onset greater than 30 years old
Muscle weakness that affects the arms and legs
At least one of the following: weakness when flexing the fingers, differing degrees of weakness when flexing and extending the wrist, and weakness in the quadriceps muscle of the thigh.
A muscle biopsy provides a definitive diagnosis for inflammatory myopathies.
Muscle biopsy is also important for the exclusion of other neuromuscular diseases.
Blood levels of creatine kinase, an enzyme present in the brain and skeletal and cardiac muscles, are usually elevated in persons with muscle damage, and are useful in the diagnosis of inflammatory myopathies.

TREATMENT OF POLYMYOSITIS

Presently, no treatment is shown to be effective against the different forms of Polymyositis. Some moderate success has been obtained with the combination of corticosteroids and methotrexate or human intravenous immunoglobulins . New therapeutic protocols are currently being under testing.
Polymyositis is commonly treated with corticosteroids . Potential side effects of corticosteroids are increased appetite, weight gain, difficulty sleeping, easy bruising, and stomach upset. Longer term use of corticosteroids can lower your resistance to infection, as well as cause stomach ulcers, muscle weakness, and bone thinning.
Different therapeutic alternatives can be attempted with immunosuppressants, notably azathioprine, methotrexate and intravenous immunoglobulins
Treatment may continue for several years. All individuals with myositis should rest their muscles during the early part of the treatment. After the muscle inflammation is improved, special exercises to strengthen muscles should be started.