Inclusion body myositis: Atypical clinical presentations

Inclusion body myositis affects primarily the proximal muscles but distal limb muscles are involved too in this chronic myopathy. Characteristic histopathologic findings include 'rimmed vacuoles', inflammation and typical cytoplasmic and nuclear filamentous inclusions. The patients are usually unresponsive to steroids. We present four inclusion body myositis patients with atypical clinical presentations: one with scapuloperoneal syndrome, one with post-polio-like syndrome and two with associated immune-mediated diseases (one with undefined autoimmune disorder and the second with scleroderma). Two patients responded to high-dose steroid therapy. We suggest that the clinical spectrum of inclusion body myositis is wider than previously appreciated.