Polymyositis mediated by T lymphocytes that express the gamma/delta receptor
Article Abstract:
The case report is presented of a 69-year-old man with polymyositis (a chronic inflammatory disease of muscle) associated with the presence of an unusual type of T lymphocyte (the main cell type of the cellular immune system), with the gamma/delta receptor on its surface. Such cells make up 5 percent of the T cell population, and the gamma/delta receptor has been identified on T cells that are CD3-positive, CD8-negative, or CD4-negative. These cells may be capable of killing the cells they recognize (cytotoxic effect), but their role has not yet been clarified, nor is it known with certainty whether they are only present in disease states. The patient in the case report began to develop muscle weakness at the age of 65, and was found to have muscle inflammation in 1988. Biopsy specimens from the patient and from patients with other inflammatory conditions (granulomatous myopathy, dermatomyositis) were evaluated to learn more about the cells that were involved. The patient was treated with prednisone (a steroid drug), and the inflammatory signs and muscle weakness disappeared after several months. Analyses of the biopsy specimens showed the presence of many gamma/delta cells in the patient's muscle fibers, with far fewer of these cells in specimens from control material. Heat-shock protein expression (a sign of tissue damage) and expression of MHC Class I antigen (a sign of inflammation) were also marked in the patient's tissues. The results indicate that gamma/delta T cells play a role in polymyositis, the nature of which is not known. Hypotheses concerning their function are discussed. This type of polymyositis seems to respond very well to steroid therapy. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1991
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Risk of cancer in patients with dermatomyositis or polymyositis: a population-based study
Article Abstract:
Individuals who have been diagnosed with polymyositis or dermatomyositis may have an increased risk of getting cancer. In 396 patients diagnosed with polymyositis in Sweden between 1963 and 1983, the incidence of cancer five years after diagnosis was almost twice what would be expected in the general population. Of 169 deaths in this group, 14% were due to cancer. In 392 patients diagnosed with dermatomyositis during that time, the incidence of cancer in the men at the time of diagnosis was more than twice that expected, and the incidence of cancer in women was more than three times that expected in the general population. Five years after diagnosis, the incidence of cancer in men was four times that expected, and in women, almost five times that expected. Of 167 deaths in this group, 40% were due to cancer.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 1992
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Hypertensive encephalopathy with impaired renal function in a 67-year-old woman with polymyositis
Article Abstract:
A 67-year-old woman with a progressive illness characterized by muscle weakness, heart dysfunction, hypertension, kidney disease, and confusion was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis and polymyositis. She was treated with prednisone and azathioprine.
Publication Name: The New England Journal of Medicine
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0028-4793
Year: 2001
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