Inflammatory dermatoses affecting the nail
Eckart Haneke in Histopathology of the NailOnychopathology, 2017
Scleroderma is considered to be a connective tissue disease, which is characterized by a progressive hardening of the skin, and in systemic sclerosis, of fibrosis of lungs and other internal organs. There are several variants with acrosclerosis and CREST syndrome being of great importance for nail pathology. The digits are particularly affected with volume reduction of the fingertips, flattening and small ulcerations of the finger pulps, shortening of the terminal phalanx bone with increased longitudinal curvature eventually leading to a parrot-beak nail, nail fold capillary changes and bleeding,272 nail fold infarctions,273 thickened and ragged cuticles, disappearance of the lunula, shiny nails274 or loss of nail plate shine, thinning and ridging of the nail, onycholysis, but also pterygium inversum.203 Gangrene of the fingertips is occasionally observed.275 Increased transverse curvature was associated with disease activity.276 Capillaroscopic changes are also found in systemic scleroderma induced by the injection of foreign substances.277
Scleroderma
Charles Theisler in Adjuvant Medical Care, 2023
Scleroderma is a chronic autoimmune disease with two main types. (1) Localized scleroderma has two subtypes and only affects the skin. It often appears as thick, hard waxy patches (morphea type) or streaks (linear type) on the skin. Symptoms tend to come and go with flare-ups and periods of relatively stability. It is not uncommon for the condition to go away or to stop progressing without treatment.1 Tightening of the skin can cause fingers to curl and lose their mobility. (2) Systemic scleroderma has three subtypes and can result in changes in the skin and muscles, circulation of blood, and extend to internal organs, especially the kidneys, lungs, heart, or digestive tract.
Connective Tissue Disorders
Ayşe Serap Karadağ, Lawrence Charles Parish, Jordan V. Wang in Roxburgh's Common Skin Diseases, 2022
Overview: The majority of patients are women. Young African American patients tend to have an earlier onset of disease and a more severe course. SSc can be divided into limited cutaneous systemic scleroderma (lcSSc), formerly known as the CREST syndrome (Calcinosis, Raynaud’s phenomenon, Esophageal dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, and Telangiectasia), and a diffuse cutaneous systemic scleroderma (dcSSc). There are different autoantibody profiles, patterns of organ involvement, and prognosis. In systemic scleroderma, there is the involvement of the internal organs, such as the digestive tract, heart, lungs, and kidneys.
“I'm still dad”: The Impact of Scleroderma on being a Father
Published in Occupational Therapy In Health Care, 2018
Janet L. Poole, Donna Haygood, Cindy Mendelson
Scleroderma is an autoimmune collagen disease that is manifested by hardening and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. While the prevalence is 4.6 times greater in females than males (Meier et al., 2012), the disease is more severe in men resulting in a poorer prognosis and increased occurrence of lung and heart involvement (Elhai et al., 2016). The mean age of onset, between 30–50 years of age, is during the peak years when males are becoming or being fathers. Systemic scleroderma has two main subtypes: limited cutaneous scleroderma and diffuse cutaneous scleroderma. Limited systemic scleroderma (lSSc) has fibrotic skin involvement limited to the hands, fingers and face and later involvement of the internal organs (Connolly & Tuffanelli, 2004). In diffuse systemic scleroderma (dSSc), the more severe subtype, skin involvement occurs more proximally with early internal organ involvement.
The association between hand disease severity and fatigue in individuals with systemic sclerosis: a scoping review
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2022
Donnamarie Krause, Janet L. Poole, Dinesh Khanna, Susan L. Murphy
Systemic scleroderma, including skin hardening, skin thickening, skin ulcers, and complications. We also included hand, contracture, function, and fatigue. These terms were expanded to include matching MeSH in PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO between January and June 2021. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) as a classification of health and health-related domains includes scleroderma as a systemic musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorder, which also involves the skin and subcutaneous tissue and was used to validate the search process [19].