Assessing Time of Onset for Interstitial Lung Disease in Anti-MDA5 Antibody-Positive Dermatomyositis

Lin et al discuss their retrospective cohort study on the time of onset for interstitial lung disease in anti-MDA5 antibody-positive dermatomyositis. Anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) antibody-positive dermatomyositis (DM) is a rare subtype of DM. MDA5 antibody-positive DM is characterized by its association with interstitial lung disease (ILD) categorized into 2 types: rapidly progressive ILD (RPILD) and chronic ILD (CILD). RPILD in patients with MDA5 antibody-positive DM has received considerable attention due to its high mortality rate. RPILD is defined as worsening dyspnea accompanied by radiographic changes within 3 months of initial pulmonary symptom onset.