While there is not yet a cure for myositis, for most patients, treatments can effectively control and improve symptoms. Ongoing research continues to add new drug options for treating myositis diseases, which gives patients and physicians options in deciding what medication is best based on the balance of risks and benefits for that individual.
While most of these medications are not approved for myositis by the FDA, they are all approved for other uses and are used “off label” in myositis. Nevertheless, their use in myositis is based on research, including small clinical trials, expert experience, and individual reports in the literature of effectiveness in myositis.
These are the most commonly used medications used for myositis:
Corticosteroids, also called adrenal cortical steroids, glucocoriticoids, or simply steroids, include mediations such as prednisone, methylprednisolone, prednisolone, and others. Acthar is a synthetic form of the hormone ACTH and is also used to treat myositis diseases.
Immunosuppressants are drugs that inhibit or prevent activity of the immune system. Immunosuppressants used in treating myositis include methotrexate, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, cyclophosphamide, and hydroxychloroquine.
Immunoglobulin is a blood product derived from large pools of donated human plasma that contains the part of the blood that contains antibodies.