Dermatomyositis is one of the serious diseases affecting the connective tissues. It is related to the disease Polymyositis. A person suffering from dermatomyositis develop inflammation in the muscles and skin. Most often, the inflammation is associated with the development of some other disease as the lupus stick vasculitis or cleroderma therefore the symptoms that the patients face is an association of these diseases.
The most prominent symptom of dermatomyositis is development of rashness on the skin. The rashes may be red or purplish in color. The common sites where these rashes appear are skin on the face, fingers, neck and chest.
In addition to the rashness, the patient will also experience weakness in muscles. The weakness develops very slowly. The patient can notice that the different while they do the daily activities as getting out of a chair or bed etc. the muscles of eyes heart or lungs, etc are not affected. As the time passes by and dermatomyositis goes on progressing, the weakness will increase. The symptoms will become more and more severe and the muscles may lose their functionality. For example, if muscles in the legs are affected then the patient will not be able to stand properly. He will require some support.
After some time patient will experience pain in such muscles. Pain arises due to the development of inflammation. The pain is similar to the pain, which occurs, whenever we over stretch some muscle during exercise or some work. However, it is important to note that the above-mentioned symptoms vary from patient to patient. They pain may become chronic as well in the later stages.
The cause of dermatomyositis is not known yet. However, several things have been proposed to be associated with it. Basically, it is an autoimmune disorder. In the patient, the white blood cells attack his own, muscles, skin and connective tissues. One reason, which has been proposed to be associated with it, is genetic mutation. Genetic mutation gives rise to the genetic configuration, which tells the white blood cells to attack cells of the body itself.
One more reason, which is proposed for causing dermatomyositis, is infection. If such an infection occurs, whose causative agent resembles the cells in muscles, the immune system of the body will fail to distinguish between them and therefore attack the body cells as well. Therefore, the immune response for that infection can become the cause of dermatomyositis.
