Basiliximab may improve the survival rate of rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonia in patients with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis with anti-MDA5 antibody

Clinical amyopathic dermatomyositis (CADM) is a special spectrum of dermatomyositis; there is prominent skin disease, but minimal or absent muscle disease.1 Rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonia (RPIP) in CADM has been reported predominantly in Asia. In contrast, Cottin et al 2 reported a benign course of interstitial pneumonia in European patients with CADM. The treatment of CADM accompanied with RPIP is challenging, complicated by its rarity and heterogeneity. Generally, this condition is resistant to therapy and commonly fails to respond to aggressive therapy, such as high-dose corticosteroids and immunosuppressants and has a very poor outcome and prognosis.3–⇓⇓6 Interleukin 2 receptor α chain (IL-2Rα, or CD25), a high affinity receptor, is expressed on T and B lymphocytes after their activation. Little IL-2Rα is expressed on unstimulated lymphocytes or is found as soluble IL-2 receptor (sIL-2R) in the serum of healthy people, however, increases in sIL-2R are seen in the setting of autoimmune diseases. …