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What is scleroderma & what causes it?
How does scleroderma affect the body?
Who gets scleroderma?
Scleroderma makes your body produce too much collagen, a protein that you need for healthy skin and tissue. It’s an autoimmune condition, which means your immune system attacks your body instead of protecting it. Scleroderma can cause lots of symptoms and affect tissue throughout your body.
Feb 27, 2024 · Scleroderma is a long-lasting autoimmune disease that affects your skin, connective tissue, & internal organs. Learn about types, causes, risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis & treatment.
- Skin
- Fingers and Toes
- Digestive System
- Heart, Lungs, and Kidneys
It is very commonTrusted Sourceto experience hardening and tightening of patches of your skin with SS. The patches may be oval-shaped or a straight line that can cover large areas of your skin. Your skin may also appear shinysince it’s so tight with your movement restricted.
Raynaud’s phenomenon results from limited cutaneous systemic scleroderma. Here, you will see small blood vessels in your fingers and toes start to constrict, or shrink, in response to cold temperatures or certain emotions. As a result, your fingers and toes may become painful, turn blue, or go numb.
SS affects all or some parts of your digestive tract. If the esophagus is involved, you may experience heartburn or swallowing difficulty. Your intestines may also be affected. In that case, you may experience: 1. cramps 2. bloating 3. diarrhea 4. constipation In your intestines, your body absorbs the nutrients it needs to function. So if your musc...
SS may affect other organs, including your heart, lungs, and kidneys. When the disease process reaches this point, it may become life threatening without early treatment. Scleroderma renal crisis is a rare but severe complication of SS that remains a significant risk factor for the life threatening progression of the disease. However, a 2016 study ...
What causes scleroderma? Researchers are looking into what actually causes scleroderma. We do know that this group of rare diseases is: NOT contagious. NOT a type of cancer. NOT an infection. We also know that a person develops scleroderma when the body makes too much collagen. This excess collagen is what causes the skin to thicken and harden.
What causes scleroderma? The exact cause or causes of scleroderma are still unknown, but scientists and medical researchers are working hard to make those determinations. It is known that scleroderma involves an overproduction of collagen.
Scleroderma causes a restrictive ventilatory defect (small lungs) secondary to an inflammatory process in the lung alveoli (air sacs). This process, left untreated, leads to fibrosis of the lung tissue (a fibrosing alveolitis) that interferes with normal gas exchange from the air to the blood.
Scleroderma is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by the thickening and hardening of the skin. Some forms of the disease also affect the blood vessels, muscles, bones, and other internal organs. There are two broad categories of scleroderma.
