Suhani Bhatnagar, who played young Babita Phogat in Aamir Khan’s wrestling film riot, She suffered from dermatomyositis, a rare inflammatory disease, on Saturday and passed away in Delhi at the young age of 19. Her family revealed that the 19-year-old started showing symptoms two months ago, even though she was diagnosed with the disease only ten days ago.
Reason:
Suhani was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on 7 February and died following medical complications on 16 February. In an interview with HT Lifestyle, Dr. Shweta Singhai, senior consultant, rheumatology at Sakra World Hospital, Bengaluru, revealed, “The exact cause of dermatomyositis is unknown, but it can be caused by viral infection of the muscles, mostly due to. Problems with the body’s immune system (when the body develops autoantibodies to its own muscles and other body tissues), bacterial infections, sometimes vaccinations, environmental factors including UV radiation and air pollutants.
He further added, “This can sometimes be caused by drugs like statins used to lower cholesterol. It is also associated with underlying malignancy in approximately 30-40% of patients and they need to be investigated for this especially if there is weight loss. This is a very rare disease, which affects 2-3 people for every 1 lakh population.”
symptoms:
The health expert said, “Dermatomyositis is an uncommon inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness and a characteristic rash on the skin. The muscles of the shoulders, upper arms, hips, thighs and neck are the weakest. Therefore, the affected person also has difficulty raising the arms above shoulder level and getting up from a sitting position on a chair or the floor. These rashes are purple colored rashes, which are often found on the eyes, cheeks, front of the chest or upper back. There may also be pain and swelling in the joints, swelling in the muscle tissue of the heart and lungs, swelling and inflammation in the blood vessels that supply your skin and muscles.
Dr. Shweta Singhai elaborated, “If left untreated, the swallowing and breathing muscles can also be affected and difficulty in swallowing and breathing can occur. This is an emergency situation and needs to be managed immediately. The patient needs to check muscle enzymes like CPK, with tests like ANA to rule out autoimmune causes. The patient may also need a PET scan to rule out malignant disease. Although there is no cure for dermatomyositis, you can treat symptoms with medication, physical therapy, exercise, heat therapy, and rest.
Treatment:
According to Dr. Shweta Singhai, the medicines include:
- Corticosteroids
- Immunosuppressant drugs like –
- methotrexate,
- mycophenolate mofetil,
- rituximab,
- intravenous immunoglobulin etc.
Other treatments according to Dr. Shweta Singhai include:
- Rest
- avoid exposure to sunlight
- using sunscreen and
- Photoprotective clothing.
