[A clinical analysis of cutaneous type dermatomyositis].

This paper reports nine patients with the classic cutaneous findings of dermatomyositis who did not develop clinical or laboratory evidence of muscle disease for at least 2 years after onset of their skin manifestations. Such patients represent 3.5% of our total experience with dermatomyositis patients during a 12 years period. None of the patients had evidence of malignancy. Each of five patients treated with oral prednisone for their cutaneous lesion or mild myositis after onset of their skin manifestations 3-12 years and had marked improvement. The author emphasizes that the cutaneous manifestations of dermatomyositis are pathognomonic of this disease and the term of this disease proposes cutaneous type dermatomyositis better than amyopathic dermatomyositis.