From the Editor's Desk
Latest Research
Expert Discussion
Do You Know?
IRA Matters
Conference Calendar
Question of the Month
Do You Know?

Historical Aspect of Inflammatory Myositis

In 1863, Wagner documented the first case of myositis in a patient who also had significant cutaneous findings.1 Twenty-four years later, Hepp reported that inflammatory myopathies can also occur in the absence of skin involvement.2 In the same year, Hans Unverricht described a 27-year-old stonemason who developed myalgias and proximal muscle weakness followed by diffuse edema, low-grade fevers, and a blue-tinted rash over his eyelids.3 Over the ensuing weeks, this patient’s condition worsened with the development of dysarthria, dysphagia, dyspnea, and ultimately, pulmonary arrest. The postmortem analysis revealed the presence of a cellular infiltrate within the affected muscles. After describing a second case in 1891, Unverricht coined the term ‘dermatomyositis’ to describe patients with an inflammatory myopathy associated with dermatologic findings.4

Bohan and Peter5 published diagnostic criteria for these diseases in 1975. Autoantibodies against the histidyl-tRNA synthetase (anti-Jo-1) are the most common MSAs and were first described6 in 1980. Anti-Mi-2 autoantibodies were first described in a 60-year-old woman with DM (patient Mi) by Reichlin and Mattioli7 in 1976. In 1986, Reeves8 first described the presence of anti-SRP autoantibodies in a ‘typical polymyositis’ patient.

References

  1. Wagner E. Fall einer seltnen Muskelkrankheit. Dtsch Arch Heilk. 1863;4:282.
  2. Hepp P. Ueber einen Fall von acuter parenchymatoser Myositis, welche Geschwulste bildete und Fluctuation vortauschte. Klin Wochenschr. 1887;24:389.
  3. Unverricht H. Polymyositis acuta progressive. Z Klin Med. 1887;12:553.
  4. Unverricht H. Dermatomyositis acuta. Dtsch Med Wochenschr. 1891;17:41.
  5. Bohan A, Peter JB. Polymyositis and dermatomyositis (first of two parts). N Engl J Med. 1975;292:344–347.
  6. Nishikai M, Reichlin M. Heterogeneity of precipitating antibodies in polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Characterization of the Jo-1 antibody system. Arthritis Rheum. 1980;23:881–888.
  7. Reichlin M, Mattioli M. Description of a serological reaction characteristic of polymyositis. Clin Immunol Immunopathol. 1976;5:12–20.
  8. Reeves WH, Nigam SK, Blobel G. Human autoantibodies reactive with the signal-recognition particle. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1986;83:9507–9511.