Our care team includes:

• Pediatric rheumatologists
• Pediatric rheumatology nurse
• Pediatric physical therapist
• Pediatric dermatologist
• Pediatric psychologist

The clinic occurs the second Tuesday of every month on the 8th floor of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Outpatient Pavilion.

Our juvenile myositis team is part of the Cure JM Clinical Care Network, one of only 15 centers in the country to be recognized for this specialized care.

We aim to create an environment where patients, families and clinical care staff work together to best meet individual patient care needs. We engage patients and families in determining key priorities and expectations for care through our Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) and support patients and families through our Peer Mentor Program. We also integrate opportunities for research participation along with clinical care visits and have ongoing studies to learn more about differences in the immune system that might cause juvenile myositis and how to predict outcomes and best treatments.

The most common type of juvenile myositis is juvenile dermatomyositis, or JDM, which is characterized by specific rashes. There are other forms of juvenile myositis that are even more rare, such as polymyositis, which do not have characteristic rashes. Other autoimmune diseases can cause myositis too.

Testing

• Physical exam
• Physical therapy evaluation and assessment
• Nailfold capillaroscopy
• Blood tests
• Imaging
• Biopsy
• Functional organ testing

Treatments

• Taking medicines that modify the immune response
• Participating in physical therapy and exercise to improve muscle strength and function
• Using sun protection
• Assessing mental and behavioral health

To learn more about juvenile myositis or to schedule an appointment, please call 734-764-2224.

At Mott, we believe that integration of research with clinical care is important to improve quality of life and outcomes for children with juvenile myositis, engaging patients and families in generation and development of research projects.

There are multiple ongoing research projects aimed at:

• Learning more about what causes juvenile myositis and how it relates to other pediatric autoimmune disease
• Developing better markers to monitor and predict disease course and treatment response
• Identifying new treatment options

Mott also participates in multicenter and collaborative research projects with other juvenile myositis centers, currently leading a multicenter research project to understand ways to predict which patients will respond to standard therapy and which patients might need different treatments earlier in the disease course. And, as a participating center in the CARRA Registry (Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance), Mott joins the nation’s network of leading rheumatology providers working to improve care and treatment for children with rheumatic diseases.