Multimodal imaging for the clinical assessment of dermatomyositis and polymyositis: A systematic review

Dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM) are two common autoimmune myopathies. In the past, the diagnosis criteria of DM/PM depended primarily on clinical features, blood enzyme levels, electromyogram and muscle biopsies. However, there still are some imperfections of the diagnosis criteria of DM/PM. Multimodal imaging as multidisciplinary approach has been proven to be valuable in evaluating patients with DM/PM. It is can not only identify the lesions distribution, evaluate muscle atrophy and fatty replacement, but also provide more information of muscle biochemical changes, myofibrillar structure and blood supply. In recent years, multimodal imaging has provided new insights into pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapeutic evaluation and progression of DM/PM.