Suhani Bhatnagar, who portrayed the function of younger Babita Phogat in Aamir Khan’s wrestling movie Dangal, succumbed to Dermatomyositis, a uncommon inflammatory illness, on Saturday and handed away in Delhi on the younger age of 19. Her household revealed that the 19-year-old confirmed symptoms two months in the past whereas she was identified with the disease solely ten days again.

Causes:

Suhani was admitted to All India Institute of Medical Sciences on February 7 and died on February 16 after medical issues. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr Shweta Singhai, Senior Consultant – Rheumatology at Sakra World Hospital in Bengaluru, revealed, “The exact cause of dermatomyositis is unknown, but it may be due to a viral infection of the muscles, mostly due to a problem with the body’s immune system (when the body develops autoantibodies to its own muscles and other body tissues), bacterial infections, occasionally vaccinations, environmental factors including UV radiation and air pollutants.”

She added, “It can sometimes be caused by drugs like statins used to reduce cholesterol. It is also associated with underlying malignancy in about 30-40% patients and they need to be screened for it especially if there is weight loss. It is a very rare disease, occurring in 2-3 people for every 1 lac population.”

Symptoms:

The well being skilled defined, “Dermatomyositis is an uncommon inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness and a distinctive skin rash. The muscles of the shoulders, upper arms, hips, thighs and neck display the most weakness. So, the affected person finds it difficult to raise the arms above shoulder level and also to get up from sitting position on chair or the floor. The rash is a purplish rash, often found around the eyes, cheeks, front of the chest or on the upper back. There may also be joint pain and swelling, inflammation of the heart and lung muscle tissues, swelling and inflammation in the blood vessels that supply your skin and muscles.”

Dr Shweta Singhai elaborated, “The muscle of swallowing and respiration can also get affected if not treated and lead to difficulty in swallowing and breathing. This is an emergency and needs to be managed immediately. The patient needs to be screened for muscle enzyme like CPK,rule out autoimmune causes with tests such as ANA. The patient may also require a PET scan to rule out malignancy. While there is no cure for dermatomyositis, you can treat the symptoms with medication, physical therapy, exercise, heat therapy and rest.”

Treatment:

According to Dr Shweta Singhai, medicines embody:

1. Corticosteroids
2. immunosuppressive medication like –

• Methotrexate,
• Mycophenolate mofetil,
• Rituximab,
• Intravenous immunoglobulin and so forth

Other remedies as per Dr Shweta Singhai, embody:

• Rest
• Avoiding solar publicity
• Using sunscreens and
• Photoprotective clothes.