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Articles tagged with "Scleroderma"

Link between Autoimmunity and Environmental Exposure Needs Further Research

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Rheumatology needs further cost-effective and validated methods to track the connection between environmental exposure and autoimmune diseases, including research on phenotypes, genotypes, the synergy between multiple infectious and noninfectious exposures, the timing of exposure, and the mechanisms involved, according to presenters of “Impact of Environmental Health on Autoimmunity,” a session here at the 2011 ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting held in Chicago in November 2011.

Dermatology Case Review

Joseph F. Merola, MD  |  

A 64-year-old man with history of type-II diabetes (well controlled on sitagliptin/metformin), hypertension, and dyslipidemia presents with complaints of an increasingly painful left lower-extremity lesion present for two to three months.

Dermatology Case Answer

Joseph F. Merola, MD  |  

A 64-year-old man with history of type-II diabetes (well controlled on sitagliptin/metformin), hypertension, and dyslipidemia presents with complaints of an increasingly painful left lower-extremity lesion present for two to three months.

Dermatology Case Review

Joseph F. Merola, MD  |  

A 33-year-old woman presents with somewhat pruritic, nodular lesions worsening over the past three months in the site of a newly placed tattoo. The nodules are restricted to certain portions of the tattoo only.

Rheum with a View

Richard S. Panush, MD  |  

Panush’s perspectives on selections from the literature

Pain Perspective in Scleroderma

Susan L. Williams Judge, MN, ARNP  |  

Systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma) is a disease in which inflammatory and fibrotic changes result in overproduction and accumulation of collagen and other extracellular matrix proteins, resulting in intimal vascular damage, fibrosis, and occasionally organ dysfunction affecting the gastrointestinal, lung, heart, and renal systems. There are two classifications of SSc—limited cutaneous or CREST (calcinosis, Raynaud’s, esophageal dysmotility, sclerodactyly, and telangectasias) syndrome, where skin thickening occurs mainly in the distal extremities and facial/neck areas and internal organ involvement, if present, occurs later in the disease process; and diffuse cutaneous disease where there is a more rapid progression of skin thickening from distal to proximal and organ involvement can be severe and occur early in the disease. As noted by various authors, there is no “crystal ball” into which one can look to see the outcome of the disease, and involvement varies significantly from one person to the next.

Help Patients with Scleroderma Manage Musculoskeletal and Functional Limitations

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On March 10, Janet Poole, PhD, OTR, professor of the occupational therapy graduate program at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, will continue the ARHP’s Audioconference/Webcast Series with the management of scleroderma. Dr. Poole received her BS in occupational therapy from Colorado State University, her MA degree in educational psychology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and her PhD in motor learning/motor control from the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Poole’s research interest is in scleroderma and the functional impact of the disease on the tasks of daily living, oral hygiene, parenting, and employment. She has conducted a number of studies examining rehabilitation interventions with people who have scleroderma and, with a colleague, is developing a self-management program for these patients. She has also authored several textbook chapters on rehabilitation for people with scleroderma.