Scleromyositis

Scleromyositis or the PM/Scl overlap syndrome is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body. Patients with scleromyositis have symptoms of both systemic scleroderma and either polymyositis or dermatomyositis, and is therefore considered an overlap syndrome. Although it is a rare disease, it is one of the more common overlap syndromes seen in scleroderma patients, together with MCTD and synthetase syndrome. Autoantibodies often found in these patients are the anti-PM/Scl (anti-exosome) antibodies. [cite journal
author= S Jablonska , M Blaszczyk
journal=Adv Exp Med Biol
year=1999
title=Scleroderma overlap syndromes
volume=455
pages=85–92
pmid=10599327]

The symptoms that are seen most often are typical symptoms of the individual autoimmune diseases and include Raynaud's phenomenon, arthritis, myositis and scleroderma. [cite journal
author=Mahler "et al."
title=Novel aspects of autoantibodies to the PM/Scl complex: Clinical, genetic and diagnostic insights
journal=Autoimmunity Reviews
year=2007
volume=6
pages=432–7
pmid=17643929
doi=10.1016/j.autrev.2007.01.013 ] Treatment of these patients is therefore strongly dependent on the exact symptoms with which a patient reports to a physician and is similar to treatment for the individual autoimmune disease, often involving either immunosuppressive or immunomodulating drugs. [cite journal
author= Jablonska "et al."
title=Scleromyositis: a scleroderma/polymyositis overlap syndrome
journal=Clinical Rheumatology
year=1998
volume=17
pages=465–7
pmid=9890673
doi=10.1007/BF01451281]

References