the normally protective immune system reacts against the body in abnormal ways. In scleroderma, the immune system interacts with the body’s blood vessels and fibroblasts, cells that help make collagen, resulting in an excess of collagen. No one understands how, but these events lead to the hallmarks of scleroderma: thickened skin and damage to vessels and internal organs.

The work was funded by the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Scleroderma Foundation.

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Contact: Steve Benowitz
steven.benowitz@mail.tju.edu
215-955-6300
Thomas Jefferson University
22-Apr-1998


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