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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1351675
This article is part of the Research Topic Understanding Scleroderma: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment Options, and Advanced Diagnostic Techniques View all 3 articles

Systemic sclerosis and Scleroderma-like syndromes

Provisionally accepted
Katarzyna *. Romanowska-Próchnicka Katarzyna *. Romanowska-Próchnicka 1*Martyna Dziewit * These authors share first authorship. Martyna Dziewit * These authors share first authorship. 1Aleksandra Lesiak Aleksandra Lesiak 2Adam Reich Adam Reich 2Marzena Olesinska Marzena Olesinska 1
  • 1 Clinic and Polyclinic of Systemic Connective Tissue Diseases, National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Warsaw, Masovian, Poland
  • 2 Institute of Microbiology, Biotechnology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, University of Lodz, Lodz, Poland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Systemic sclerosis is a systemic connective tissue disease whose main pathophysiological mechanism is a progressive fibrosis of the skin leading to thickening and induration. Internal organs and blood vessels may also be involved. However, systemic sclerosis is not the only disease causing cutaneous sclerosis. There is a group of diseases that mimic scleroderma in their clinical presentation - these are scleroderma-like syndromes. A distinction can be made between syndromes of inflammatory/autoimmune, genetic, metabolic, toxic, drug-induced, occupational, paraneoplastic and syndromes caused by deposition disorders. In the following paper, we have reviewed the literature on scleroderma-like syndromes. We have outlined the factors predisposing to the development of each disease, its pathogenesis, clinical presentation, diagnostic and treatment process and the differences between each syndrome and systemic sclerosis.

    Keywords: systemic sclerosis, morphea, scleroderma, scleroderma-like syndromes, syndromes of inflammatory/autoimmune, genetic, toxic

    Received: 06 Dec 2023; Accepted: 03 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Romanowska-Próchnicka, Dziewit * These authors share first authorship., Lesiak, Reich and Olesinska. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Katarzyna *. Romanowska-Próchnicka, Clinic and Polyclinic of Systemic Connective Tissue Diseases, National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Warsaw, Masovian, Poland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.