ELEVATED SOLUBLE INTERCELLULAR-ADHESION MOLECULES-1 IN INFLAMMATORY MYOPATHY

Introduction - We evaluated the serum level of soluble intercellular a dhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in patients with polymyositis (PM) and de rmatomyositis (DM) and investigated the correlation between the serum level of sICAM-1 and clinical findings Material and methods - We measu red the serum level of sICAM-1 using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent as say in 19 untreated patients with inflammatory myopathy (14 patients w ith PM and 5 patients with DM), 20 patients with other neuromuscular d isorders in which immunological mechanisms are unlikely to be involved , and 14 normal healthy controls. Results - The serum level of sICAM-1 was significantly higher in patients with PM/DM compared with patient s with other neurological disorders and control subjects. The sICAM-1 level was, however, not correlated with the clinical characteristic in cluding disease severity, the duration of illness, and the serum level of CK. Conclusion - These findings suggest that sICAM-1 is involved i n the inflammatory process of PM and DM.