Suggest Treatment For Polymyositis In An Elderly Person

Posted on Fri, 17 Mar 2017

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 Answered on

Fri, 7 Apr 2017 Last reviewed on

Question : My father is 64 suffering from Polymyositis.3 years age he was totally on bed.. returned to normal life after IVIG immunoglobin treatment.Recently 1 month ago he was feeling very weak and was hospatilized and treated under Solumedrol.After discharge he is given Omnacortil 20 ( 1-1-1)..But currently there is no progress in health.Cant get up, motion does not pass at all,no energy in body,dont take much food, sleepless night...Plz suggest me what shud we do..why this weakness still there

Answered by Dr. Divya Agarwal (38 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Check muscle enzymes

Detailed Answer:
Hello
it needs to be confirmed whether the current situation is related to his polymyositis.
This can be done with the help of tests for muscle enzymes like cpk,ldh.
steroids generally give relief but some people may be refractory to it.
In that case ivig may be repeated.
Other treatment options are immunosuppresants and rituximab.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Remy Koshy