Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies
The focus of Myositis Support and Understanding is chronic muscle diseases called Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies (IIM). In general, these are referred to as Myositis.
The prefix ”Myo” means muscle, the suffix “itis” means inflammation, and Idiopathic means the cause is unknown. When we put that together it simply means “inflammation of the muscle with an unknown cause.”
About Myositis
Myositis can be a temporary condition, such as with exercise that improves with rest. The sore muscles you feel after a workout is an example of this temporary form of myositis.
Myositis can also be a symptom of a disease that presents with muscle inflammation or swelling. An example of this could be a diagnosis we see a lot of “myalgia and myositis” which means pain and muscle inflammation.
Others types of myositis may be caused by injury, certain medications, or electrolyte imbalances.
In our case, myositis is a rare, thought-to-be autoimmune disease that causes chronic muscle inflammation leading to muscle weakness, along with other symptoms, and is also known as Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies (IIMs).
The IIM’s have been classified into sub-types. Myositis is a highly variable disease in that each patient presents differently and responds differently to available therapies.
About Myopathies
There are many different types of myopathies. Myopathies may be divided into two main categories: inherited and acquired. Lack of family history and patterns of weakness can help distinguish between the two.
Furthermore, an early age of onset with a relatively longer duration of disease may suggest an inherited myopathy, and a sudden (subacute) presentation at a later age is more consistent with an acquired myopathy like myositis. Inherited myopathies can be further subclassified as muscular dystrophies, congenital myopathies, mitochondrial myopathies, and metabolic myopathies. Acquired myopathies can be subclassified as inflammatory myopathies, toxic myopathies, and myopathies associated with systemic conditions.
More about MyopathySimply Put
“Simply Put” is a service of Myositis Support and Understanding, to provide overviews of Myositis-related medical and scientific information in understandable language.
MSU volunteers, who have no medical background, read and analyze often-complicated medical information and present it in more simplified terms so that readers have a starting point for further investigation and consultation with healthcare providers. The information provided is not meant to be medical advice of any type.
The above information is provided as a basic overview of a complicated group of diseases. For more in-depth information, you are encouraged to explore the individual topics covered in the MSU website.
