Scleroderma, meaning “hard skin,” refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders in which patients often experience skin thickening and fibrosis. In the systemic form of the disease, systemic sclerosis (SSc), internal organ involvement and vasculopathy are prominent features, with gastrointestinal (GI) involvement especially common and affecting the esophagus in approximately 90% of patients. Symptoms and clinical disorders that reflect GI involvement in the cardinal pathogenic features of scleroderma (ie, vasculopathy, immune-mediated inflammation, and neuropathy) emanate from every segment of the GI tract: dysphagia and gastroesophageal reflux disease from the esophagus; gastroparesis and gastric antral vascular ectasia from the stomach; telangiectasia, pseudo-obstruction, and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth from the small intestine; constipation and colonic dilatation; and fecal incontinence due to thinning of the anal sphincters.
We will be happy to hear your thoughts