https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2023.1562

Polymyositis following varicella and mumps infection in adults: report of two cases

Vol. 75 No. 4 (2023)
Submitted: 4 February 2023
Accepted: 21 August 2023
Published: 19 December 2023
Polymyositis, varicella, mumps, viruses, intravenous immunoglobulin, rituximab
Abstract Views: 679
PDF: 186
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

F. Masini
masini.fr@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4184-2808
Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy.
K. Gjeloshi
Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Albania.
E. Pinotti
Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy.
R. Ferrara
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3681-1369
Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy.
C. Romano
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5807-6601
Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy.
G. Cuomo
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4292-3589
Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Naples, Italy.

Idiopathic immune myopathies (IIMs) are autoimmune diseases caused by immune-mediated muscle damage. The etiology remains unclear. Epidemiological and experimental studies, both in animals and humans, hint at viruses as major environmental factors able to trigger aberrant immune responses through many different mechanisms. However, only a few cases of either dermatomyositis or polymyositis following a specific viral infection have been reported in the literature. The objective of this study is to describe the clinical features and the treatment strategy of 2 cases of polymyositis developing shortly after chickenpox and mumps, respectively, and to review the existing literature on the topic. The clinical records of the 2 patients suspected to have developed inflammatory myositis following a viral infection were reviewed. Their clinical history, main laboratory findings, and treatment outcome are presented here. Moreover, a literature search was performed in the PubMed and MEDLINE databases to identify reports describing the association between viral infections and IIMs in patients aged ≥18. The 2 patients reported here developed polymyositis shortly after chickenpox and mumps, respectively, suggesting a causal role for viruses in triggering autoimmunity. Only a few reports published between 1990 and 2020 were found in the literature, possibly linking infections to myositis development. Intravenous immunoglobulin and rituximab were effective for the treatment of viral-triggered polymyositis.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Baig S, Paik JJ. Inflammatory muscle disease - an update. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2020; 34: 101484. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.berh.2019.101484
Smatti MK, Cyprian FS, Nasrallah GK, Al Thani AA, Almishal RO, Yassine HM. Viruses and autoimmunity: a review on the potential interaction and molecular mechanisms. Viruses 2019; 11: 762. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/v11080762
Chou JW, Lin YL, Cheng KS, Wu PY, Ju TR. Dermatomyositis induced by hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma: a case report and review of the literature. Intern Med 2017; 56: 1831‐7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2169/internalmedicine.56.7595
Carroll MB, Holmes R. Dermatomyositis and HIV infection: case report and review of the literature. Rheumatol Int 2011; 31: 673‐9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-009-1231-x
Zampieri S, Ghirardello A, Iaccarino L, Briani C, Sarzi-Puttini P, Atzeni F, et al. Polymyositis-dermatomyositis and infections. Autoimmunity 2006; 39: 191‐6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/08916930600622348
Cuomo G, Iagnocco A. Manuale di reumatologia. Turin: Minerva Med, 2022. [Book in Italian].
Ytterberg SR. Infectious agents associated with myopathies. Curr Opin Rheumatol 1996; 8: 507-13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00002281-199611000-00003
Bowles NE, Dubowitz V, Sewry CA, Archard LC. Dermatomyositis, polymyositis, and Coxsackie-B-virus infection. Lancet 1987; 1: 1004-7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(87)92271-9
Chevrel G, Calvet A, Belin V, Miossec P. Dermatomyositis associated with the presence of parvovirus B19 DNA in muscle. Rheumatology 2000; 39: 1037-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/39.9.1037
Fox SA, Ward BK, Robbins PD, Mastaglia FL, Swanson NR. Inclusion body myositis: investigation of the mumps virus hypothesis by polymerase chain reaction. Muscle Nerve 1996; 19: 23-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4598(199601)19:1<23::AID-MUS4>3.0.CO;2-A
Leclair V, Lundberg IE. New myositis classification criteria-what we have learned since Bohan and Peter. Curr Rheumatol Rep 2018; 20: 18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-018-0726-4
Lundberg IE, Tjärnlund A, Bottai M, Werth VP, Pilkington C, de Visser M, et al. 2017 European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology classification criteria for adult and juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies and their major subgroups. Ann Rheum Dis 2017; 76: 1955‐64. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2017-212786
Sasaki H, Kohsaka H. Current diagnosis and treatment of polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Mod Rheumatol 2018; 28: 913‐21. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14397595.2018.1467257
Baccaro ACCD, Behrens Pinto GL, Carboni RCS, Shinjo SK. The clinical manifestations at the onset of antisynthetase syndrome: a chameleon with multiple faces. Reumatismo 2020; 72: 86-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2020.1275
Goswami RP, Haldar SN, Chatterjee M, Vij P, van der Kooi AJ, Lim J, et al. Efficacy and safety of intravenous and subcutaneous immunoglobulin therapy in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Autoimmun Rev 2022; 21: 102997. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autrev.2021.102997
Barsotti S, Cioffi E, Tripoli A, Tavoni A, D’Ascanio A, Mosca M, et al. The use of rituximab in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: description of a monocentric cohort and review of the literature. Reumatismo 2018; 70: 78-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2018.1011

How to Cite

Masini, F., Gjeloshi, K., Pinotti, E., Ferrara, R., Romano, C., & Cuomo, G. (2023). Polymyositis following varicella and mumps infection in adults: report of two cases. Reumatismo, 75(4). https://doi.org/10.4081/reumatismo.2023.1562
Copyright (c) 2023 the Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.