Systemic scleroderma is a systemic connective tissue disease.
It is also known as "systemic sclerosis".
In the skin, scleroderma causes hardening and scarring. The skin may appear tight, reddish or scaly. Blood vessels may also be more visible. Where large areas are affected, fat and muscle wastage may weaken limbs and affect appearance. Also, patients report substantial, even severe and recurrent itching of large skin areas, the source of much a...
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Systemic scleroderma is a systemic connective tissue disease.
It is also known as "systemic sclerosis".
In the skin, scleroderma causes hardening and scarring. The skin may appear tight, reddish or scaly. Blood vessels may also be more visible. Where large areas are affected, fat and muscle wastage may weaken limbs and affect appearance. Also, patients report substantial, even severe and recurrent itching of large skin areas, the source of much affliction as the condition worsens. There is much variation in severity between patients, with some having scleroderma of only a limited area of the skin (such as the fingers) and little involvement of the underlying tissue; while others have progressive skin involvement.
Diffuse scleroderma can cause musculoskeletal, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, renal and other complications. Patients with larger amounts of cutaneous involvement are more likely to have involvement of the internal tissues and organs. Most patients (over 80%) have vascular...
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