Childhood systemic sclerosis

PubMed, the Internet portal of biomedical and life sciences literature, indexed an interesting article, entitled Childhood systemic sclerosis (Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2007 Nov;19(6):592-7). Authors are Zulian F and Martini G from the Pediatric Rheumatology Unit, Department of Pediatrics, University of Padova, Italy. Juvenile systemic sclerosis has a variety of clinical manifestations, sometimes different from the adult form. Early recognition, proper classification and treatment may improve the long-term outcome. A multicenter study coordinated by the Paediatric Rheumatology European Society has yielded important information on the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of systemic sclerosis in childhood. An ad-hoc Committee on Classification Criteria for Juvenile Systemic Sclerosis developed the new classification criteria to help improve patient care by enabling earlier diagnosis. The outcome of children with systemic sclerosis is better than in adults but, in those cases with a fatal course, disease progression is rapid and an early involvement of internal organs. To access the full abstract of the article, click here.