Idiopathic inflammatory muscle disease: clinical aspects

Although much remains to be learned about the immune-mediated myositis synd romes, information generated from recent studies in a number of areas may a ssist physicians in patient management. Topics reviewed here include: data supporting the association of myositis with cancer and the appropriate eval uations for malignancy in a myositis patient; an approach to the assessment of patients with dermatomyositis sine myositis; the usefulness of the clin icopathological and serological classifications; a discussion of whether ch ildhood and adult myositis are the same or different entities; a review of those prognostic factors to consider in the clinical management of myositis patients; current approaches and their limitations for assessing disease a ctivity and damage. To improve our limited understanding of the myositis sy ndromes, national and international collaborations are needed to obtain the necessary numbers of subjects, given the rarity and heterogeneity of these disorders.