Update in systemic sclerosis

✍ Scribed by Kim, Lauren H. ;Korn, Joseph H.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 93 KB
• Volume: 49
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0004-3591
• DOI: 10.1002/art.11194

✦ Synopsis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma), is a multiorgan systemic disease. Patients develop organ dysfunction secondary to a mixture of fibrotic and vascular disease in the setting of underlying autoimmunity. Although cutaneous fibrosis is the disease hallmark, fibrosis of visceral organs (such as the lungs), vascular damage, and intimal vascular occlusion and fibrosis are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality.

The articles included in this review are recently published studies (1999 -2002) in SSc that are relevant in teaching us about the pathophysiology of the disease, natural history of certain target organ damage, new therapies that are currently available, and therapies on the horizon.