Extensive inflammatory reaction in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

摘要

In facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), prominent inflammatory cellular infiltrates mimicking inflammatory myopathies are often observed in muscle biopsies. We report extensive inflammatory changes in a 16-year-old girl who was genetically confirmed as to have FSHD. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that this could be clearly distinguished from inflammatory myopathies, both in terms of cell subsets and the expression of antigenic targets. Our observations strongly suggest that the inflammatory cellular infiltrates in FSHD differ from those observed in inflammatory myopathies.