Autoantibodies in Myositis: Clinical Importance and Current Laboratory Methods for Detection

Inflammatory myopathies are a group of rare diseases that are characterized by progressive muscle weakness due to chronic skeletal muscle inflammation. Classification of these rare diseases is based on a combination of clinical presentations, autoantibodies, and muscle histopathology. This presentation will discuss the pathophysiology, clinical classification, and current laboratory methods, including their advantages and disadvantages, used in the detection of autoantibodies associated with inflammatory myopathies.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe the etiology, clinical presentation, and classifications of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.

2. Describe the methods used in the detection of autoantibodies associated with IIM.

3. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of each detection method.