What are the differences between localized and systemic scleroderma?

Scientists are creative when it comes to thinking of treatment options or potential causes of disease, but when it comes to naming, they aren’t that imaginative. Localized scleroderma is limited to the skin and sometimes the muscles right under the skin. It can involve one or several patches of thickened, hardened skin.

Systemic scleroderma, on the other hand, affects the skin, tissue underneath, blood vessels, and major internal organs such as the heart, lungs, esophagus, kidneys, joints, muscles, and ligaments.

Systemic scleroderma can be broken down even further.

• Limited cutaneous scleroderma, where the thickening is usually restricted to the hands, arms, and face, and Raynaud’s phenomenon is common and sometimes lung fibrosis.

• Diffuse scleroderma typically comes on quickly with larger skin patches that are usually on both sides of the body in addition to some organ involvement.

And some experts also include:

• Sine subtype, which means that there is some organ involvement but skin does not thicken.

Localized scleroderma affects the skin almost exclusively, and is confined to specific areas of the body. Systemic scleroderma can impact the skin and many other vital organs throughout the body.

Scleroderma is a term that describes a large group of diseases, but in general, those diseases are categorized into two groups: Localized and systemic. Localized scleroderma generally affects only the skin and, occasionally, the muscle directly beneath the skin. These skin changes may be severe, but they will not affect internal organs. Localized scleroderma is subdivided into groups depending on the characteristics of the skin changes. Systemic scleroderma, on the other hand, is much more widespread and affects the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. There are many more subcategories of systemic scleroderma, including CREST syndrome, or limited systemic scleroderma, diffuse cutaneous scleroderma, and others. Generally, systemic scleroderma is more severe than localized scleroderma, though the severity of the symptoms varies from person to person.