small amount of medicine a person requires in order to keep symptoms from returning or worsening.

any therapy used in place of conventional or more traditional treatments. Examples are specialized diets instead of chemotherapy for cancer patients and herbal remedies in place of pharmaceutical medi [..]

[see also dermatomyositis sine myositis] dermatomyositis with only skin symptoms, like the skin rash, and no muscle weakness or pain. The words break down to derma or skin, myo or muscle, itis or infl [..]

protein produced by the body that acts against antigens (substances foreign to the body) in the immune response. In a typical immune response, lymphocytes of the immune system identify the antigens as [..]

foreign protein that stimulates an immune response in the body.

protein associated with a higher incidence of interstitial lung disease. This autoantibody is found in about 25 percent of myositis patients.

type of medicine that acts against diseases with inflammation or pain in muscles or joints. Methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) are antirheumatic treatments.

inflammation or swelling of the joints.

inhaling or breathing in food or other substances into the larynx below the vocal chords toward your lungs. This can lead to aspiration pneumonia, an often serious infection in the lungs caused by the [..]

protein of the immune system that acts against your own tissues.