[A case of polymyalgia rheumatica with cytoplasmic bodies]

A 63-year-old man with polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) with cytoplasmic bodies (CB) in biopsied muscle was reported. He was referred to our hospital in June 1988 because of myalgia of four extremities. The ESR was 114 mm/hr and the serum CPK level was normal. Needle EMG and nerve conduction velocities showed normal findings. On light microscopic examination in biopsied muscle, the inclusion bodies which appeared on HE stained sections as deep reddish masses were present in 10% of all fibers. By electron microscopy the core of the bodies consisted of a dense tangle of thin filaments which were intermixed with granular material. Around the core a network of irregularly or radially oriented filaments was observed. These bodies were identified with cytoplasmic bodies. Since there has been no previous report of PMR with CB, our case is important to discuss the relationship between the pathogenesis of PMR and CB.