Juvenile Dermatomyositis Registry at Children’s Memorial Hospital

The Division of Rheumatology at Children’s Memorial Hospital provides state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment for children who have problems involving their musculoskeletal system. In addition to providing family education, identifying support services and coordinating with home health to facilitate treatment, members of the division are engaged in research that has fostered new approaches to both diagnosis and treatment. Division members are leaders in specific areas of pediatric rheumatic disease, and together they serve as a national and international resource. Some of the joint and muscle diseases that are autoimmune in nature are juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) and systemic lupus erythematosus. Autoimmune diseases are those in which the body mistakes good cells for foreign and attacks them.