A Longitudinal Study of Cutaneous Dermatomyositis

In a retrospective cohort study involving 40 patients with cutaneous dermatomyositis, researchers found that over an average follow-up period of 3.5 years, 57.5% of patients improved, 20% worsened, and 22.5% remained stable in terms of disease activity as measured by the CDASI activity subscore. The study, which had a majority of female (90%) and Caucasian (95%) participants with an average age of 52.9 years, revealed that 82.5% experienced a polyphasic disease course, 12.5% had a monophasic course, and 5% had a chronic course. Improvement or stability in disease activity was not dependent on the severity of the disease at baseline.