Case for Diagnosis: Dermatomyositis; Scleroderma? Presented by Col. Raymond M. Williams (MC), U. S. Army, and Capt. George B. Skipworth (MC), U. S. Army (by invitation).
A Negro woman aged 38, in the fifth month of pregnancy, has had vague muscle and joint pains for four years. There is wasting of the muscles of the upper extremities, tightness of the skin on the face and arms, and difficulty in swallowing. She was given a course of penicillin three years ago, when she was found to have a positive serologic test for syphilis. The section from a biceps muscle biopsy specimen is consistent with dermatomyositis. The 24-hour urine creatinine is 646 mg. per 100 cc.; the blood creatinine is 795 mg. per 100 cc.; total protein is 7.2 gm., with albumin 3.4 and globulin 3.8.
Discussion
Dr. Nelson Paul Anderson (by invitation): I believe that this belongs in