Scleroderma

Who is affected?

• Scleroderma is particularly uncommon. About 20 poeple per million per year develop the disease in the US, amounting to almost a quarter of a million people. Compared to mulitple sclerosis, a disease that is more familiar to many, scleroderma affects roughly the same number of people (20-80 per 100,000).
  
• Women in the primes of their lives are hit hardest by scleroderms. The average age at onset is 45 years and four out of five scleroderms patients are women. Scleroderma affects all races and occurs in every country of the world

What causes scleroderma?

• To our best knowledge, dietary habits do not predispose a person to the development of scleroderms. By the same taken, a special diet will not result in a cure. Some environmental factors, such as silica dust, are thought to be associated with scleroderma, yet these have not been clearly established as true risk factors. Silicone breast implants are not known to cause the disease.
  
• Among leading scleroderma researchers, the causative role of genetics is debated. Studies have not shown that the disease is passed from parent to child. However, the possibility of a genetic link is strongly suggested by rare occurences of systemic sclerosis in identicl twins. In addition, recent findings at the UCSF Scleroderma Research Foundation laboratory reveal increased amounts of a newly identified protein in patients with the disease.

For more information, please visit the Scleroderma Foundation