Systemic Sclerosis and Other Connective Tissue Diseases

Systemic sclerosis and related connective tissue diseases: present and future

In April 2006, 30 international experts gathered in Athens, Greece, to discuss systemic sclerosis (SSc) and related connective tissue diseases (CTDs). SSc is a clinically heterogeneous and complex disease that is characterized by vascular dysfunction, vascular and extravascular fibrosis, and characteristic immune derangements, and for which few treatment options are available. The aims of the C...

Systemic lupus erythematosus and other connective tissue diseases.

Antifibrillarin autoantibodies present in systemic sclerosis and other connective tissue diseases interact with similar epitopes

Autoantibodies specific against fibrillarin, a 34-kD nucleolar protein associated with U3-snRNP, are present in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). To understand the mechanisms involved in the induction of these autoantibodies, we prepared a series of human fibrillarin recombinant proteins covering the entire molecule and analyzed their interaction with the autoantibodies present in various...

Complexity of the pathophysiology of systemic sclerosis and other connective tissue diseases

Despite advances in elucidating the pathogenic factors responsible for its development, systemic sclerosis remains complex and poorly understood, and treatment options are limited. Multidisciplinary collaborative efforts are needed to better characterize clinical and prognostic parameters and to design and implement large-scale clinical trials in well defined populations with therapies that tar...

Results of the Health Assessment Questionnaire for Japanese patients with systemic sclerosis--measuring functional impairment in systemic sclerosis versus other connective tissue diseases.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the physical functional impairment in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) using the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) and to estimate the correlation of HAQ scores with the severity of SSc. METHODS One hundred and twenty-four outpatients with connective tissue disease, including 50 patients with SSc, were evaluated using the HAQ. Twelve patients were classified as...