CASE REPORT
Involvement of the Nervous System in Systemic Sclerosis
Elīna Polunosika1, *, Daina Pastare1, 2, Līga Jaunozoliņa3, Guntis Karelis1, 4
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2022Volume: 16
E-location ID: e1874205X2112241
Publisher ID: e1874205X2112241
DOI: 10.2174/1874205X-v16-e2112241
Article History:
Received Date: 08/10/2021Revision Received Date: 16/11/2021
Acceptance Date: 24/11/2021
Electronic publication date: 08/02/2022
Collection year: 2022
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Introduction:
Scleroderma is a rare heterogeneous multisystem autoimmune disease. The disease is characterized by structural abnormalities of the small blood vessels. Scleroderma affects all organs of the body. Skin manifestations are commonly reported, but peripheral nervous system (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS) involvement has been less frequently reported. Neurological manifestations are broad, and it is challenging for clinicians to confirm a diagnosis of scleroderma.
Case Presentation:
In our case, a 53-year-old white woman had extensive clinical presentations: skin rashes and symptoms from internal organs, CNS, and PNS during the previous 11 years. She had not undergone any specific treatment because diagnosis has not been made in the early stages.
Conclusion:
It is important to make the diagnosis as early as possible and start treatment with immunomodulatory and immunosuppressant medication, as it affects the patient's disease progression, quality of life, and mortality. A detailed medical history, physical examination, and laboratory and radiology findings help us to identify and diagnose scleroderma. But unfortunately, it was late, and the patient died. This case guides us to be more careful and make the diagnosis of scleroderma earlier in the future.
