Antisynthetase antibody syndrome: case report and review of the literature

Antisynthetase antibody syndrome is a rare autoimmune disease that may present with variable systemic manifestations, mainly polymyositis, interstitial lung disease, skin lesions, and Raynaud’s phenomenon. This diagnosis should always come to mind in patients that present with signs of myositis, dermatomyositis, or polymyositis associated with interstitial lung disease. On the following paper, we report the case of a 52-year-old man who presented with a 2-month history of asymmetric polyarthralgia, myalgia, weight loss of 8 kg, and progressive muscle weakness associated with dyspnea, orthopnea, and dysphonia. Further tests revealed myositis, interstitial pneumonia, and elevation of anti-Jo-1 antibodies. A diagnosis of antisynthetase antibody syndrome was made and the patient showed good response to treatment with corticoids and methotrexate. Finally, we present a short review of the literature.