Q: I was recently diagnosed with inclusion body myositis at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco. I am an 86-year-old male. What can you tell me about this disease and what it’s treatments are?

A: Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is one of a group of muscle diseases known as inflammatory myopathies. The diseases are characterized by chronic, progressive muscle inflammation and weakness. It usually begins after age 60 but can occur earlier and affects men more frequently than women. It is not uncommon for it take years to be diagnosed correctly.

In IBM weakness generally progresses gradually over a period of months or years and affects both the truck and the limbs. The weakness can occur on one or both sides of the body. Initial signs and symptoms may begin with weakness in the wrists and fingers, causing difficulty with pinching and gripping items. Thinning or loss of muscle bulk of the forearm and quadricep muscles may also be present. Half of all IBM sufferers will also experience difficulty swallowing. Falling is common.
[Read more...]