A recent study details the autoantibodies of patients with myositis, confirming most patients carry these antibodies. The results also describe how myositis-specific autoantibodies can be used to identify distinct clinical subsets of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy…
New data from India suggest women with idiopathic inflammatory myositis are at increased risk of poor fetal outcomes and spontaneous abortions. In the study, researchers found these women had worse obstetric outcomes and increased risk of fetal complications…
Since it was first reported in 1916, a correlation between inflammatory myopathies and cancer has been noted in several studies. Population studies have confirmed this relationship, and the phrase cancer-associated myopathy has entered the vernacular. Over the past decade, research efforts have shifted toward revealing associations between autoantibodies and clinical phenotypes. One subset of auto-antigens…
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are at the forefront of advances in cancer therapy and have shown promising results for progression-free survival. Checkpoint signaling pathways, such as cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4) and programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1), normally regulate the immune response to promote self-tolerance and prevent tissue damage and inflammation. PD-1 is a…
AMSTERDAM—Research in myositis treatments is beginning to find its way, with investigators pursuing avenues special to the disease so therapy for patients may no longer involve piggybacking on existing treatments for other illnesses, an expert said at EULAR: the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology. “Finally, in myositis there are targets being investigated that are more…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Statin use is associated with an increased likelihood of developing idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM), researchers from Australia report. “[Although] the incidence of IIM is rare, with the increasing use of statins worldwide and the severity of this condition, this study highlights the need for increased awareness of the condition and the importance…
SAN DIEGO—In Hot Topics in Myositis, a session held Nov. 7 at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, rheumatologists discussed treating myositis patients in three different clinical scenarios: persistently elevated creatine kinase (CK), immune-mediated necrotizing myopathies and lung disease. Elevated CK Patients with persistently elevated levels of CK enzyme and normal muscle strength “may still have…
SAN DIEGO—At the 2017 Thieves Market, held Nov. 6 at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, rheumatologists from around the world presented patient cases to an audience of colleagues, who then voted via text messaging to choose the cases they felt were most perplexing or intriguing. The winner received a free 2018 Annual Meeting registration, and the…
The Presentation A pale, quiet woman—her mother—wheeled the girl into my clinic. It was a blistering Florida day, and the girl was shivering. She glanced up at me when I said hello and asked her name. “Hi,” she said, giving me a broad smile. Her smile was the only broad thing about her. Her elbows…
In recent years, scientists and clinicians have learned a great deal about autoantibodies occurring in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs). These new discoveries have reshaped our understanding of distinct clinical phenotypes in IIMs. Scientists continue to learn more about how these autoantibodies shape pathophysiology, diagnosis, disease monitoring, prognosis and optimum treatment. Moving forward, these autoantibodies will…