Juvenile dermatomyositis

Juvenile dermatomyositis is part of the idiopathic inflammatory myositis group of diseases, presenting acute or chronic multisystemic inflammatory injury, that mainly affects muscles and skin. It's incidence is 411, 000, 000, prevailing in women and Caucasians, with symptoms starting between 5-14 years of age. The etiology is unknown, nevertheless is well recognized the role of vasculitis produced by autoantibodies, such is responsible for the damage on skin and muscular microvasculature. The acute or chronic complications and the neuropathic manifestations (cerebral vasculitis and peripheric neuropathy) are rare, and both are the result of the same autoimmune vasculitis injury.