
Dr. George Stojan with the Johns Hopkins Lupus Center discusses that inactivated vaccines are safe in patients with lupus.
A common complication in any of the rheumatic diseases is Reynaud’s disease, and Dermatomyositis is no different. Dermatomyositis presents symptoms in many ways; however, the most common signs are skin, muscle, and lung issues. The skin usually presents a rash (like a sunburn) that doesn’t go away, there is progressive muscle weakness, and lung inflammation that causes extreme shortness of breath. In this video series, Dr. Eleni Tiniakou, a physician at the Johns Hopkins Myositis Center, explains the common symptoms of Dermatomyositis.
Vasculitis is an autoimmune attack on the blood vessels. It is diagnosed by discussing the symptoms with the patient and then narrowing in on the specific vessels that seem to be affected.
Diagnosis begins with a physical exam of the patient. The exam is followed by a biopsy or radiology to get a clear understanding of how the blood vessels are being affected.
The enzymes that indicate Dermatomyositis also indicate liver disease, which is much more common. Most doctors will perform a liver biopsy that shows everything is normal. Then, they will look at the enzymes in the muscle and see that there is a problem. In this video series, Dr. Eleni Tiniakou, a physician at the Johns Hopkins Myositis Center, discusses the process of diagnosing Dermatomyositis.