CASE REPORT


Involvement of the Nervous System in Systemic Sclerosis



Elīna Polunosika1, *, Daina Pastare1, 2, Līga Jaunozoliņa3, Guntis Karelis1, 4
1 Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Riga East University Hospital, Riga, Latvia
2 Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Rīga Stradiņš University, Riga, Latvia
3 Diagnostic Radiology Centre, Riga East University Hospital, Riga, Latvia
4 Department of Infectology, Rīga Stradiņš University, Riga, Latvia


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Creative Commons License
© 2022 Polunosika et al.

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.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Riga East University Hospital, Riga, Latvia; Tel: +37167042531; E-mail: elinapolunosika@gmail.com


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.

Keywords: Scleroderma, Demyelinating, Nervous system, Immunomodulatory, Medications, Peripheral nervous system.