Outline/Thesis/Intro for Research Paper

Juvenile Dermatomyositis

      A.    Intro

a.       JDM is an autoimmune disease that can cause a skin rash and weak muscles, although there is no known cure, there are many medications that can suppress the symptoms of this illness

b.      Some other symptoms can include fever, weight loss, and fatigue.

      B.     Genetics

a.       My cousin was diagnosed with JDM in January.

                                                              i.      Just dry air and she slept on her neck funny.

                                                            ii.      Went to a doctor in North Carolina and then sent to Chicago

     C.     Diagnoses

a.       Many different ways some are strength tests and some are blood test

b.      CMAS-tests the child’s endurance and how long they can keep their leg off of the ground.

c.       For a blood test the look to find higher leavels of aldolase or phosphocreatine kinase levels.

     D.    JDM only affects 17,000 children in the United States. 

     E.     The immune systems is defined as a group of cells that protect the body from infection.

a.       In JDM the immune system becomes hyper active and the cells attack each other causing inflammation.

     F.      Case Study

a.       14 year old girl who was diagnosed at age 3

b.      She had difficulty standing up from a sitting position and vise versa.

c.       Rash on her hands and knuckles, shoulders, and back.

     G.    Doctors in the United States

a.       Dr. Lauren Pachman

                                                              i.      Works at the Children’s memorial in chicago

     H.    Treamtent

a.       Prednisone-side effect and how to be weaned off of it

b.      Methotrexate

                                                              i.      I have taken Prednisone and am currently on Methotrexate

c.       Other medications can work too

     I.       If caught soon enough the outcome can be good

         What if one day you thought everything was okay and then you woke up and realized that you may never be able to do every day activities again? Juvenile Dermatomyositis is an auto-immune disease that can cause a skin rash and weak muscles, although there is no known cure, there are many medications that can suppress the symptoms of this illness. There are many different ways to find out if someone has JDM and if the illness is caught soon enough they may be able to regain all strength back and live a healthy normal life.