Definition - one of a group of muscle diseases that involve inflammation of the muscles or associated tissues; apparently both an inflammatory and a degenerative muscle disease

Cause - the cause is unclear in most cases; sometimes genetic (inherited)

Onset - primarily among men after age 50 but can affect women

Symptoms - weakness of the muscles of the wrists and fingers and those that lift the front of the foot; muscles of the front of the thigh

Progression - slowly progressive

Inheritance - some genetic forms without much inflammation; genetic forms can be dominant or recessive, meaning a faulty gene from each parent may be required or a faulty gene from one parent may be sufficient to cause symptoms

Facts About Inflammatory Myopathies