Dermatomyositis and polymyositis may affect children and adults and are now widely recognized as major causes of disability which, thanks to the introduction of immunosuppressive drugs, is often treatable, at least to some extent. Few data exist regarding polymyositis in elderly patients. We describe a case of refractory life-threatening polymyositis in an elderly patient, successfully treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide.
BohanA.PeterJ.B., 1975. Polymyositis and dermatomyositis. N. Engl. J. Med.292:344.
2.
ChoyE.H.S.IsenbergD.A., 2002. Treatment of dermatomyositis and polymyositis. Rheumatology41:7.
3.
MastagliaF.L.ZilkoP.J., 2003. Inflammatory myopathies: How to treat the difficult cases. J. Clin. Neurosci.10:99.
4.
ChoyE.H.S.HoogendijkJ.E.LeckyB.WinerJ.B., 2005. Immunosuppressant and immunomodulatory treatment for dermatomyositis and polymyositis. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews3:CD003643.
5.
MarieI.HatronP.Y.LevesqueH.HachullaE.HellotM.F.Michon-PasturelU.CourtoisH.DevulderB., 1999. Influence of age on characteristics of polymyositis and dermatomyositis in adults. Medicine78:139.
6.
KatzS.FordA.B.MoskowitzR.W.JacksonB.A.JaffeM.W., 1963. Studies of illness in aged: The index of ADL, a standardized measure of biological and psychosocial function. JAMA185:94.
7.
CuppsT.R.EdgarL.C.FauciA.S., 1982. Suppression of human B lymphocyte function by cyclophosphamide. J. Immunol.128:2453.
8.
De VitaS.FossaluzzaV., 1992. Treatment of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies with cyclophosphamide pulses: Clinical experience and a review of the literature. Acta Neurol. Belg.92:215.
9.
RileyP.MaillardS.M.WedderburnL.R.WooP.MurrayK.J.PilkingtonC.A., 2004. Intravenous cyclophosphamide pulse therapy in juvenile dermatomyositis. A review of efficacy and safety. Reumathology43:491.
10.
SchnabelA. RichterReuterM.BiedererJ.RichterC.GrossW.L., 2003. Interstitial lung disease in polymyositis and dermatomyositis: Clinical course and response to treatment. Semin. Arthritis. Rheum.32:273.
11.
KamedaH.NagasawaH.OgawaH.SekiguchiN.TakeiH.TokuhiraM.AmanoK.TakeuchiT., 2005. Combination therapy with corticosteroids, cyclosporin A, and intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide for acute/subacute interstitial pneumonia in patients with dermatomyositis. J. Rheumatol.32:1719.
