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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffThe most common signs and symptoms of dermatomyositis include:
- A violet-colored or dusky red rash, most commonly on your face, eyelids, and areas around your nails, knuckles, elbows, knees, chest and back. The rash, which can be patchy with bluish-purple discolorations, is often the first sign of dermatomyositis.
- Progressive muscle weakness, particularly in the muscles closest to the trunk, such as those in your hips, thighs, shoulders, upper arms and neck. The weakness is symmetrical, affecting both the left and right sides of your body, and tends to gradually worsen.
Other dermatomyositis signs and symptoms that may occur include:
- Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
- Muscle pain or tenderness
- Fatigue, fever and weight loss
- Hardened deposits of calcium under the skin (calcinosis), especially in children
- Gastrointestinal ulcers and intestinal perforations, also more common in children
- Lung problems
References
- NINDS dermatomyositis information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/dermatomyositis/dermatomyositis.htm. Accessed May 6, 2009.
- Baer A. Advances in the therapy of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2006;18:236.
- Dalakas MC. Inflammatory disorders of muscle: Progress in polymyositis, dermatomyositis and inclusion body myositis. Current Opinion in Neurology. 2004;17:561.
- Miller ML. Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of adult dermatomyositis and polymyositis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 8, 2009.
- Greenberg SA, et al. Uncertainties in the pathogenesis of adult dermatomyositis. Current Opinion in Neurology. 2004;17:359.
- Santmyire-Rosenberger B, et al. Skin involvement in dermatomyositis. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2003;15:714.
- Amato AA, et al. Treatment of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Current Opinion in Neurology. 2003;16:569.
- Oddis CV. Current approach to the treatment of polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2000;12:492.
- Walker UA. Imaging tools for the clinical assessment of idiopathic inflammatory myositis. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2008;20:656.
- Miller ML, et al. Initial treatment of dermatomyositis and polymyositis in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 8, 2009.
- Miller ML, et al. Treatment of recurrent and resistant polymyositis and dermatomyositis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed June 15, 2009.
