DERMATOMYOSITIS ASSOCIATED WITH CROHNS-DISEASE

A 29-year-old woman with quiescent Crohn's disease developed severe my ositis. Serum creatine phosphokinase was markedly elevated, and muscle biopsy showed typical findings of dermatomyositis. The muscular sympt oms promptly responded to combined treatment with corticosteroids and azathioprine. The association between inflammatory bowel disease and i nflammatory myopathies is very rare. We review the clinical, pathologi cal, and pathophysiological aspects of this association.