OBJECTIVE The aim of our study was to elucidate the pathophysiology of systemic sclerosis-related osteoporosis and the prevalence of vertebral fragility fracture in postmenopausal women with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODOLOGY Fifty-four postmenopausal women with scleroderma and 54 postmenopausal controls matched for age, BMI, and smoking habits were studied. BMD was measured by dual energy...

Existing studies have shown that satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry has two apparent drawbacks, i.e., temporal decorrelation and atmospheric contamination, in the application of deformation mapping. It is however possible to improve deformation analysis by tracking some natural or man-made objects with steady radar reflectivity, i.e., permanent scatterers (PS), in the frame...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the efficacy of a repeated teaching process of the modified Rodnan skin score (MRSS) in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The question is whether a repeated teaching course is required to maintain good results after a first, successful teaching process. METHODS Two consecutive teaching courses were organised by two Romanian EUSTAR centres for the same rheumatologists, to evalua...

OBJECTIVES We aimed to obtain an estimate of the prevalence and demographics of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and its subtypes at the turn of the millennium. METHODS Case finding from multiple sources from a defined geographical area. Diagnosis confirmed by clinical examination. RESULTS The crude prevalence of SSc in northeast England was 8.8 (95% CI: 6.8-10.8) per 100,000. The prevalence when a...

The circulating levels of hyaluronate were determined in 36 patients with scleroderma and in 36 control subjects matched for age and sex. The mean serum hyaluronate concentration in patients with progressive systemic sclerosis (n = 25) was 131 +/- 67 (SD) microgram/l and significantly greater (p less than 0.001) than that of the controls (mean level 49 +/- 21 (SD) microgram/l). Hyaluronate leve...

1. Clements PJ, Lachenbruch PA, Seibold JR et al. Skin thickness score in systemic sclerosis: an assessment of interobserver variability in 3 independent studies. J Rheumatol 1993;20:1892–6. 2. Asano Y, Ihn H, Yamane K, Kubo M, Tamaki K. Impaired Smad7Smurf-mediated negative regulation of transforming growth factor (TGF)signaling in scleroderma fibroblasts. J Clin Invest 2004; 113:253–64. 3. Ka...