Scleroderma
Scleroderma thickens the skin as a result from the body attacking itself in an autoimmune response. Two main forms of the disease exist: localized and systematic. When a small area of the skin becomes thickened in a scleroderma patient, he has the localized version of the disease, but for some, thickened areas also affects other parts of the body. This widespread autoimmune response is systematic scleroderma.
The exact cause of the the disease and a cure remain elusive from scientists, but many theories about its origins exist. A lifetime illness, treatments only control the symptoms rather than cure them, but with treatment, patients with scleroderma improve their lifestyles.
An Autoimmune Disease
Doctors cannot determine the exact causes of scleroderma, but they classify it as an autoimmune disease. These disorders result when the immune system erroneously responds. Rather than fighting off an invading infections in the body or repairing an injury, the immune system in those with autoimmune diseases begins to attack the body.
Injury, Autoimmune Response and Scleroderma
In people with normal immune systems, an injury to the body causes special cells called fibroblasts to create scar tissue called collagen. Scar tissue normally breaks down over time, but for those with scleroderma, the rate of breakdown of scar tissue (collagen) does not match the increased rate of collagen production. The fibroblasts work overtime in scleroderma patients, creating unnecessary scar tissue which builds up into thickened areas of skin known as fibrosis. This fibrosis commonly appears in those with both localized and systematic forms of scleroderma.
Whether an injury triggered a response from the immune system to attack the body in an autoimmune reaction as well as the injury cannot be determined, but some patients with scleroderma might have had an injury or illness set off just such a response, leading to their disease.
Tags: immune system, those with, with scleroderma, attack body, autoimmune response