Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma): remaining challenges

Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma)

labmedicine.com November 2005 Volume 36 Number 11 LABMEDICINE 723 Systemic sclerosis is a chronic disease of unknown etiology characterized by abnormal accumulation of fibrous tissue in the skin and multiple organs.1 Scleroderma derives its name from the Greek words “sclerosis” (hardness) and “derma” (skin), thus aptly named “hard skin,” a feature that is common to all the different types of sc...

Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma)

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem autoimmune disease in which there is increased fibroblast activity resulting in abnormal growth of connective tissue. This causes vascular damage and fibrosis. Fibrosis occurs in skin, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, heart, lungs and other internal organs. Vascular manifestations include secondary Raynaud's phenomenon, ischaemia of extremities, pulmona...

Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma)

Systemic Sclerosis / Scleroderma (SScl)

While it is called by many names and comes in different varieties, SScl is characterized by one basic problem: overproduction of collagen. Collagen is an important protein in the body that is a component of scar tissue, which allows injuries to heal. When too much collagen is deposited, however, a number of problems can arise, and this is the basic obstacle that must be faced in patients with S...

Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma)

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem autoimmune disease in which there is increased fibroblast activity resulting in abnormal growth of connective tissue. This causes vascular damage and fibrosis. Fibrosis occurs in skin, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, heart, lungs and other internal organs. Vascular manifestations include secondary Raynaud's phenomenon, ischaemia of extremities, pulmona...