Mixed connective tissue disease

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Revision as of 07:51, 31 July 2010 by imported>Howard C. Berkowitz
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See also: Scleroderma

Now understood to be a distinct disease, mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is variously considered an overlap (i.e., overlap connective tissue disease) between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), scleroderma, and polymyositis; a specific subset of scleroderma with objective features of other diseases, such as SLE or polymyositis; or a distinct disease entity.

Most patients with MCTD have autoantibodies characteristic of scleroderma, such as U1 small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (anti-U1 snRNP OR anti-U1 RNP), and have clinical Raynaud's phenomenon.