title: Imaging: seeing muscle in new ways.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The idiopathic inflammatory myopathies are diseases that can be difficult to diagnose and evaluate, but diagnosis has been improved by modern imaging techniques. Advances in imaging continue to be made. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the implications of these advances for the diagnosis, understanding, and management of muscle diseases.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There have been advances in imaging across multiple modalities. Several new radiotracers show an improved ability to focus on inflammation better than older agents. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy has shown the ability to diagnose several idiopathic inflammatory myopathy mimics. MRI reveals previously unknown areas of disease when used for full-body imaging. Ultrasound has the ability to differentiate inclusion body myositis from other myopathies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Currently, MRI and ultrasound offer the most information about these diseases in a given patient, and new advances in these fields have served to only make them more useful. New advances in nuclear imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy are showing that they have utility as well, and advances in these techniques may allow them to come to the forefront in evaluating difficult idiopathic inflammatory myopathy patients.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Autoimmunity Group, Intramural Research Program, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schiffenbauer
mesh_terms: D003952:Diagnostic Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D009220:Myositis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D014463:Ultrasonography