Polymyositis, A Simple Guide To The Condition, Diagnosis, Treatment And Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Polymyositis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases
Polymyositis is a rare inflammatory disease of the muscles.
It causes muscle weakness, swelling, tenderness, and tissue injury.
It is component of a bigger group of diseases called myositis.
It can involve many muscles in the body, such as those of:
1.The musculoskeletal system,
2.The respiratory system and
3.The ENT sphere.
Causes
The precise cause is not known but it may be linked to an autoimmune reaction or infection.
It appears that there are genetic tendencies to this disease.
In genetically predisposed patients, the start of polymyositis would be affected by certain environmental factors.
A chronic immune reaction is believed to be accountable for the muscle inflammation typical of polymyositis.
Polymyositis can involve people at any age.
It is most frequent in adults between ages 50 and 60, and in older children.
It affects women two times as often as men.
Symptoms
Polymyositis is a generalized disorder.
This indicates it involves the whole body.
Muscle weakness and tenderness can be features of polymyositis.
A rash is a sign of a similar disorder, dermatomyositis
Frequent symptoms are:
1.Muscle weakness in the shoulders and hips.
The patient may find it hard to raise the arms over the head, get up from a sitting position or climb stairs.
2.Difficulty swallowing.
3.Shortness of breath
When it involves the muscles of the musculoskeletal system, polymyositis is normally indicated by:
1.A weakness that occurs in the proximal muscles of the arms, shoulders and thighs;
2.Muscle pain, also called myalgia.
This weakness and muscle pain complicates the quality of daily life.
When it involves the respiratory system, polymyositis can present with several symptoms:
1.Cough
2.Fever;
3.Difficulty breathing, also called dyspnea.
When it happens in the ENT sphere, polymyositis particularly involves the pharyngeal muscles.
1.Swallowing disorders;
2.Nasal regurgitation;
3.Cough while eating;
4.Hoarseness of the voice;
5.Nasal voice
Diagnosis
Tests may be:
1.Autoimmune antibodies and inflammation tests
2.CPK
3.Serum aldolase
4.Electromyography
5.MRI of affected muscles
6.Muscle biopsy
7.Myoglobin in the urine
People with this disorder also must be monitored carefully for signs of cancer.
Treatment
Treatment of polymyositis is normally based on medicines and physiotherapy.
The drug treatment of polymyositis is dependent on immunomodulators.
As first treatment corticosteroid medicines is given.
It is successful in 60 to 70% of cases.
The dose of medicine is slowly reduced off as muscle strength increases.
This requires about 4 to 6 weeks.
The patient will maintain on a low dose of a corticosteroid medicine after that.
Medicines to suppress the immune system may be given as substitutes for the corticosteroids.
These drugs may involve azathioprine, methotrexate or mycophenolate.
For disease that stays active in spite of corticosteroids, intravenous gamma globulin has been given with mixed results.
Biologic drugs also may be given.
Rituximab seems to be the most effective and promising.
It is important to rule out other disorders in people who do not respond to treatment.
A repeat muscle biopsy may be considered necessary to make this diagnosis.
If the condition is associated with a tumor, it may improve if the tumor is removed.
The treatment of polymyositis also involves physiotherapy through re-education and rehabilitation sessions.
Complications may be:
1.Calcium deposits in the affected muscles, particularly in children with the disease
2.Cancer
3.Heart disease,
4.Lung disease, or
5.Abdominal complications

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Polymyositis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: May 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463995990

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972. Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009. Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993. Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 70. However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com. His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com This autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com. From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks. He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books. He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures. Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple. For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients. The later books go into more details of medical disorders. He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter. The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks. He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke. His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre. The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall. He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) starting with the Apple computer and going to PC. The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core. The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive. He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance. His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner. The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned. This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale. Dr Kee is the author of: "A Family Doctor's Tale" "Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine" "Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

Polymyositis,

A

Simple

Guide

To

The Condition,

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2019 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Polymyositis, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Polymyositis)

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiolographical account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiolographical account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Polymyositis

What is Polymyositis?

Polymyositis is a rare inflammatory disease of the muscles.

It causes muscle weakness, swelling, tenderness, and tissue injury.

It is component of a bigger group of diseases called myositis.

Polymyositis is a rare disease featured by muscle inflammation whose causes are unknown to date.

It can involve many muscles in the body, such as those of:

1. The musculoskeletal system,

2. The respiratory system and

3. The ENT sphere.

What is the cause of polymyositis?

Causes