[Progressive systemic sclerosis and polymyositis overlap syndrome: a report of 40 cases]

We studied 40 patients who had clinical features of both typical progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) and polymyositis (PM). The indurated skin extended over the metacarpophalangeal joints in all patients. The sclerotic changes, diffuse in type, involved the whole body, including the face, neck, extremities and trunk in most cases. All showed Raynaud's phenomenon. All patients had muscle weakness, elevated skeletal muscle enzymes and myogenic disorders in electromyograms, and biopsy of muscles showed myositic changes. The symptoms involved multiple systems, particularly the gastrointestinal and circulatory systems, presenting features of both PSS and PM. Serologic examinations often revealed auto-antibodies in these patients. Treatment with small doses of corticosteroid and traditional chinese medicines usually had good results. We found that either PSS or PM might appear first, or they might appear simultaneously. It is our opinion that as long as we keep alert and carefully observe the features and their development, we can easily diagnose the disease early.