Cutaneous Lesion in Muscle Disease

Excerpt

To the editor: In the October issue Stahl and associates (1) describe a "distinctive cutaneous lesion" seen in patients with connective tissue diseases which "appear to be associated with an inflammatory myopathy." The occurrence of this sign is suggested to be indicative of myositis.

Carl Pearson (2) describes a similar phenomenon in dermatomyositis and other types of polymyositis: "hyperemia at the base of the fingernails, along the sides of the nails and on the fingerpads. The pads may become shiny, red and atrophic and are constantly flaking or peeling."

It appears that this is not an uncommon or recently