<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Dear Folks, Thank you all for your kind replies. Here is the summary of the replies I received. I appreciate the help, however, I think my mother in law is an unwilling subject. We also just found out that she has diabetes and has never been on the diet for it, nor has she ever told us that it runs in her family. Picture the TV show "Everybody Loves Raymond" and you have my family dynamics. She told a friend of mine yesterday that I have told her what she should eat (diabetes) and she said she will listen then eat what she wants. It's possible that she may be more accepting of this possibility later and I will save all of you e-mails for her to read. Some were very interested to hear of a connection because they have been diagnosed. Some misunderstood and thought I meant Polio. The explanation (for some who asked) is in the links that some of you sent, and thank you to those of you who sent the links , that was very helpful. I can at least print out that information for her and our family. Summary ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't have polymyositis, but do have another connective tissue disease as well as Celiac Disease. The literature I have read discusses the tendency for autoimmune diseases to run in families (not necessarily the same autoimmune disease). In addition, people with CD have a greater incidence of other autoimmune diseases than the general population. I have not read anything that states a direct causal effect, though I have read articles implying that long untreated CD can lead to other autoimmune illnesses. Anyway, if your mother-in-law has CD symptoms, it certainly is possible that she has CD in addition to polymyositis. I hope that, with treatment, now that she has the polymyositis diagnosis, her health will improve If you want more info on polymyositis, a good site is: www.myositis.org/ Good luck ------------------------------------------------------------------------- How timely of you to ask. I just got diagnosed with it and was going to ask the group. And the reason I was going to ask is that, while it can come from various origins, one of them is an auto-immune deficiency just like Celiac. While Celiac attacks the tiny hair-like villi of the intestines and starves the body, some forms of myositis (like mitochondrial myopathy) attack the tiny hair-like villi (sub-organelles) of the muscle cell nuclei walls and starve the cells. These processes are so similar that there has to be a connection. The only difference is that Celiac is still underdiagnosed enough that it is still an "orphan" disease and hardly any scientists are working on a cure (bless those few who are.) Whereas the myositises, while still widely underdiagnosed, have gone through that stage and enough diagnoses are now starting to be made that a lot of researchers are working on it and some treatments are being forwarded. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE forward to me any info you get that may link these two diseases, if such a link exists. My grandmother has polymyositis and lives in tremendous pain everyday because of it. If there is a celiac link, this would help her sooooo much, and it could help my mother as well, who is showing signs of it already. Thanks so much ------------------------------------------------------------------------- There should be a book called the Merck Manual in your local library which is a medical book covering all medical conditions. Look up polymyositis and you will see information on cause (possibly autoimmune reaction), pathology, symptoms and signs, lab findings, diagonsis (including muscle biopsy), treatment and prognosis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Can't you insist on a biospy to determine celiac disease? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hope this helps. It may be something they will 'outgrow'. Keep faith, stay healthy. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/disorders/polymyos_doc.htm NINDS Polymyositis Information Page ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is a real long shot, but I would have her vitamin D levels checked. If there is a severe deficiency of D, calcium cannot do its job, which is to keep the smooth muscles and vessels of the autonomic nervous system functioning, causing diffuse muscle and vessel spasm. I started with very severe pains in the large muscles of my thigh (big biopsy scar to disprove ALS and other things), which progressed to coronary artery spasm, asthma and swallowing problems before being diagnosed. None of this may apply in your situation, but I saw your note and thought it was worth a try. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks again to all of you for your help, if I recieve more info I will let you know. Diana in RI