What is Juvenile Dermatomyositis

Juvenile dermatomyositis is an autoimmune disorder in which your own immune system attacks your muscles and skin. When breaking down the term dermatomyositis, derma in medical terms means skin, myo means muscle and itis means inflammation. The disorders first sign is often a skin rash that appears usually on fingers and eyelids it is rosey in color and sometimes turns purple. ( Emma's first presented on her face. She now has it on her hands, stomach, knees, elbows, toes, and eyelids.) In the beginning some people complain of feeling weaker.
It is unknown what causes JDM. Doctors think that in order to become sick with JDM a child needs to come in contact with one or more factors from their surroundings (called environmental exposure), including certain infections, sunlight, life stressors, or other stimulants of the immune system or muscle. ( Don't let this scare you, there is more needed. Your child probably wont get this from a day in the sun.) A specific combination of genes (probably many genes) is also needed. Genes are the inherited materials inside your body's cells (DNA) that make up your body and give directions for your body to work as it should. Because so many different things have to add up just right JDM is very rare. The frequency of rare diseases is difficult to measure. Doctors best guess, based on a recent study, is that at least 3 in 1 million children develop JDM each year in the United States. If this estimate is correct, then approximately 2 hundred to 5 hundred new cases will develop each year in the United States.

Tomorrow we will go over the symptoms in more detail.

This picture is of Emma at her worst. She was completely unable to hold her own head up! Still smiling!!!!!!