Miopatía esteroidea

Steroid myopathy (SM) is usually an insidious disease process that causes weakness mainly to the proximal muscles of the upper and lower limbs. This condition is believed to be caused by an excess of exogenous corticosteroid, which may result from steroid treatment for inflammatory processes, such as polymyositis. SM can occur with any of the corticosteroid preparations. There is wide inter-patient variability in the time course of symptom onset, determined partly by the steroid dose. There is no definitive diagnostic test for this process and the diagnosis is generally established by demonstrating improved muscular strength within 3-4 weeks after appropriate dose reduction.