Systemic Sclerosis and the Gastrointestinal Tract-Clinical Approach.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a multisystem disease characterized by functional and structural abnormalities of small blood vessels, fibrosis of the skin and internal organs, immune system activation, and autoimmunity. The gastrointestinal tract is involved in nearly all patients and is a source of significant morbidity and even mortality. The aim of this review is to summarize the pathogenesis and to provide a clinical approach to these patients.
B. Shine Rheumatology Unit, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.|Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
Yolanda
Y
Braun-Moscovici
Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.|Department of Gastroenterology, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel.
Rita
R
Brun
Liver Institute, Beilinson Hospital, Petach Tiqwa, Israel.|Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Marius
M
Braun