Chronic inflammation of skeletal muscle tissues termed myositis is associated with inherited muscular dystrophy and with acquired inflammatory myopathy. In this review, the role of the organic osmolytes taurine, betaine, myo-inositol and sorbitol in skeletal muscle in general and in myositis in particular, is discussed. Evidence indicates that regulated osmolyte pathway activation contributes to normal muscle functioning, which becomes further activated in myositis as part of the tissue’s program of damage control. On the one hand, osmolytes seem to act as protein stabilizers in muscle fibers counteracting tissue injury but, on the other hand, these compounds also regulate immune cell function. The possibilities for treating myositis through boosting of beneficial or targeting of adversary effects are explored
