Myopathy – What, Causes, Symptoms and Treatments!

Myopathy – What, Causes, Symptoms and Treatments of this condition. Furthermore, Myopathy is a muscle disease  that is characterized by muscle weakness . A Myopathy  is a muscle disease  unrelated to any disorder of the innervation or neuromuscular junction. These conditions have widely varying etiologies, including congenital or hereditary, idiopathic, infectious, metabolic, inflammatory , endocrine, and drug-induced or toxic.

Myositis refers to any condition that causes inflammation in the muscles. Weakness, swelling and pain are the most common symptoms of myositis. Causes of myositis include infection, injury, autoimmune conditions, and drug side effects. Treatment of myosidia varies depending on the cause.

Causes of Myopathy: Myopathy is caused by any condition that leads to inflammation in the muscles. The causes of myositis can be divided into several categories:

• Inflammatory Conditions: Conditions that cause inflammation throughout the body can affect the muscles, causing myositis. Many of these causes are autoimmune conditions, in which the body attacks its own tissues. Inflammatory conditions  that cause potentially serious myositis include:
• dermatomyositis
• polymyositis
• Inclusion body myositis

Other inflammatory conditions  tend to trigger milder forms of myositis, including:

• Lupus;
• Scleroderma;
• Rheumatoid arthritis.

Inflammatory conditions  are often the most serious causes of myositis, which require long-term treatment.

Symptoms of Myopathy: The main symptoms of Myopathy  are muscle weakness , impaired function in activities of daily living and, rarely, muscle pain  and tenderness. Significant muscle pain and tenderness without weakness should prompt consideration of other causes. General signs and symptoms of Myopathy  include the following:

•  Symmetric proximal muscle weakness ;
• Malaise, fatigue;
• Dark colored urine (suggests myoglobinuria) and/or fever ;
• Absence of sensory complaints or paresthesia; However, deep tendon reflexes (DTR) may be diminished/absent in hypokalemic paralysis;
• Very Late Findings: Atrophy and hyporeflexia (early presence usually implies neuropathies);
• Normal level of consciousness;
• Gottron Papules in Dermatomyositis: Pink-to-purple scaly areas over the joints , elbows, and knees.

Diagnosis of Myopathy: It is of paramount importance to have an early diagnosis of Myopathy , to provide the best possible care. An experienced physician can diagnose myopathy  by evaluating a child’s medical history and performing a thorough physical examination. Diagnostic tests can help differentiate between different types of myopathies , as well as between myopathy  and other neuromuscular disorders. If the doctor suspects agenetic myopathy  , a complete family history will also be taken. Genetic testing is available for some myopathies .

Diagnostic tests that the doctor may order include: measurements of potassium, creatine kinase, lactic dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase, and certain antibodies in the blood; Muscle tissue biopsy ; and electromyogram.

Myopathy Treatments: There are several types of Myopathy , these types are caused by many different pathways, there is no single treatment for Myopathy . Treatments range from treating symptoms to very specific cause-focused treatments. Drug therapy, physical therapy, supportive support, surgery and massage are all current treatments for a variety of myopathies .

Prevention of Myopathy: There is no way to prevent the genetic mutations that cause Myopathy , nor are there ways to prevent metabolic and endocrine failures that result in Myopathies . Inflammatory myopathies  usually occur as a result of exposure to viruses or drugs, but their development is almost impossible to predict .