Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease that affects the skin and blood vessels. It can also affect organs such as the kidneys, heart, esophagus, and lungs.
Scleroderma causes the skin to harden and get tight. Your joints may get stiff and swollen. If this disease affects the organs, it is called systemic sclerosis and it can cause more serious problems. Scleroderma that affects your lungs may make it hard for you to breathe. You may have heart failure if scleroderma affects the blood vessels that lead from the heart to your lungs.
Scleroderma cannot be cured, but in some cases the condition may improve over time. Systemic sclerosis increases the risk of heart, kidney, and lung failure, which can lead to death. The type of treatment depends on whether the disease affects just your skin or other parts of your body. You will have a team of health professionals to help you. These may include a doctor, physical therapist, psychologist, dentist, and pharmacist. You will probably need medicines to treat symptoms and to prevent long-term problems.
Scleroderma is an uncommon disease in which parts of the skin and blood vessels break down and are replaced by fibrous tissue. Organ damage may also occur. This can lead to joint damage and lung, kidney, or heart failure and other life-threatening conditions. When scleroderma affects organs, it is called systemic sclerosis.
Symptoms of scleroderma can include thickening of the skin, joint pain and stiffness, problems swallowing, and cold fingertips that may turn white or blue (Raynaud's phenomenon). More serious symptoms may occur as the disease progresses and affects major organs.
What causes scleroderma isn't known. But it likely involves a problem with the immune system. There is no cure. But treatment can help relieve symptoms and prevent complications.
Scleroderma is a rare disease in which a person's immune system begins to change normal, healthy tissues. (This is called an autoimmune disease.) As a result, connective tissue of the skin, lungs, heart, and digestive tract is replaced with scar tissue. This change causes the tissues to become stiff and the muscles to not work as well.
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