Atrophy, weakness, pain...these are some muscular symptoms of autoimmune diseases. Although not all pathologies of this type primarily affect our muscles, in many cases we lose the ability to move or find ourselves with less strength.
However, there are other autoimmune diseases that directly affect the muscular system and can immobilize the patient.
Be that as it may, our muscles are the target of numerous genetic or autoimmune diseases. The difficulty in diagnosing these types of diseases and the frequency with which other diseases leave us feeling tired are factors that prevent patients from leading a normal life and carrying out everyday activities.
When our immune system fails and attacks the body's own tissues and cells, or when a genetic disease is "activated," pathological processes are initiated that may primarily affect the muscles.
Some of the diseases that affect our muscles are:
BECKER'S MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY
This is a rare genetic disorder that progressively weakens and reduces the muscles of the body, especially in the legs and pelvis.
The first symptoms of weakness usually appearin children between the ages of 10 and 13, and it is from the age of 15 or 16 onwards that it can cause walking difficulties. Gradually, this disease can affect the hips, shoulders, or heart muscles.
Although the incidence is low, this disease is particularly difficult because it prevents climbing stairs, playing sports, or lifting weights.
The cause of this disease is a genetic disorder that affects a protein called dystrophin. This substance, which is defective in people with the disease, prevents muscle cells from recovering, so when a cell is damaged, it dies and is replaced by fatty and scar tissue. This prevents movement.
If it affects men more than women, it is because men only have one X chromosome and girls have two. Therefore, if a girl has an altered gene, she has the ability to produce dystrophin.
This disease, which resembles Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has no cure. Current therapies are based on orthopedics and physical treatment to stretch and mobilize the muscles.
MYASTHENIA GRAVIS
Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease that affects striated or voluntary muscles. It is characterized, above all, by intense weakness after exercise and, although it improves with rest, it is a progressively evolving condition.
One of the first symptoms to appear is weakness in the eyelids or double vision because myasthenia affects the muscles of the eyes. This weakness can then spread to the muscles of the throat and neck, causing difficulty speaking or swallowing.
One of the most serious manifestations is weakness in the respiratory muscles, which prevents the patient from breathing when they have a symptomatic crisis and may require hospitalization.
DERMATOMYOSITIS
This is an autoimmune disease that affects striated or voluntary muscle and skin. Its muscular manifestations include weakness and pain.
Although skin symptoms ( such as redness, plaques or papules, and purple rashes) are more noticeable, muscle weakness is always present at the time of diagnosis.
Muscle symptoms are usually mild, but there are often difficulties walking or dressing, and, less frequently, it affects the chest or abdominal muscles.
OTHER INFLAMMATORY MYOPATHIES
In addition to dermatomyositis, polymyositis and inclusion body myositis are conditions that cause muscle weakness and inflammation in this tissue.
These diseases, on the other hand, are considered systemic because, in addition to affecting the muscles, they affect the skin, lungs, and other organs.
Polymyositis is a condition that, in addition to affecting the muscles of the shoulders and hips, causes pain and voice problems due to weakness of the muscles in the throat.
In inclusion body myositis, weakness manifests in the wrists and fingers, and atrophy in the muscles of the arms and legs. However, the first time a person thinks they may have this disease is because they fall frequently.
All of these myositis conditions, in addition to muscle weakness, share symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, speaking, or breathing, fatigue, fever, and loss of appetite with consequent weight loss.
There are currently more than 80 catalogued autoimmune diseases. Many are considered rare diseases, but among the most common and well-known, there are three that particularly affect the muscles.
Graves' disease affects the thyroid gland, causing inflammation and hyperactivity. Symptoms include muscle weakness, excessive metabolic activity, redness and inflammation of the skin, and anxiety, among others.
Multiple sclerosis multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that affects the myelin in the nerves and presents neurological, intestinal, and muscular symptoms, including numbness, weakness, and loss of balance, among others.
Lupus affects collagen in the skin, bones, tendons, and, in general, the protein that holds our connective tissue together. Among its most common symptoms is redness of the skin, but muscle pain is also frequent.
In many cases, autoimmune disease has a genetic cause combined with environmental triggers. Although the possibilities of gene therapy are increasing thanks to research, the truth is that it is still an experimental form of treatment.
However, we can act on the other factors that cause the disease and on the symptoms, so that patients can regain their quality of life.
In the case of muscular diseases, the aim is to restore elasticity and mobility, strength, and to use physical therapies that allow us to act even in the most severe cases, such as those affecting the respiratory system.
At Biosalud Day Hospital, we specialize in the treating chronic and autoimmune diseases in a causal manner, analyzing what may cause each symptom and designing the most effective treatment for each patient.
