title: Systemic sclerosis sine scleroderma: is it always the same disease? Report of three patients and discussion.
abstract: The recent description of a large cohort of patients with the diagnosis of systemic sclerosis sine scleroderma (ssSSc) provided significant progress in our understanding of this entity. The prognosis of patients with ssSSc is, however, very variable, from benign in most cases to rapidly disabling in others. By reporting three new cases and analyzing previously published data, we discuss possible subsets and variants of the disease form.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine A, Bnai Zion Medical Center and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. gslobodin@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Gleb
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Slobodin
authors.forename: Itzhak
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rosner
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rozenbaum
authors.forename: Jochanan E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Naschitz
authors.forename: Elimelech
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zuckerman
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yeshurun
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D017675:CREST Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018450:Disease Progression; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012594:Scleroderma, Localized / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012595:Scleroderma, Systemic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index