Abstract Number: 2970 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Primary Care Assessment of Capillaroscopy Abnormalities in Patients with Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Background/Purpose: Raynaud’s phenomenon is a clinical symptom that can commonly present to a primary care provider or generalist. Proper identification of an underlying connective tissue…Abstract Number: 2971 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Raynaud Phenomenon Subjects with Abnormal Capillary Dilations Show a Risk Threshold Diameter Value for the Transition to the Capillaroscopic Early� Scleroderma Pattern: A Case Control Study
Background/Purpose: Nailfold Video Capillaroscopy (NVC) is a reliable method to qualitatively differentiate Primary (PRP) from Secondary Raynaud Phenomenon (SRP) through diagnosis of the “early scleroderma…Abstract Number: 2972 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis: Unexplored Mechanisms of Dyspnea
Background/Purpose: Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) experience dyspnea for multiple reasons. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET), an important tool in the evaluation of undifferentiated dyspnea, provides…Abstract Number: 2973 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Exercise Intolerance Evaluated By Invasive Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing in Connective Tissue Disease: Beyond Pulmonary Hypertension
Background/Purpose: Exercise intolerance is common in patients with connective tissue disease (CTD) and may be related to pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, determining the exact etiology…Abstract Number: 2974 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Insulin Resistance Is Associated with the Digital Ulcer in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis
Background/Purpose: Growing evidence supports the view that systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a vascular disease mediated by autoimmunity and evolving into progressive tissue fibrosis. Several vascular…Abstract Number: 2975 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Induced Sputum Analysis in Systemic Sclerosis Patients
Background/Purpose: Induced sputum (IS) is a noninvasive tool, aimed at collecting cellular and soluble materials from lung airways. IS is well accepted by patients, safer…Abstract Number: 2976 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Ambrisentan Dose Migration over 3 Years in Patients with Connective Tissue Disease-Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (CTD-PAH)
Background/Purpose: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is an important complication in patients with connective tissue disease and may lead to increased morbidity and early mortality. …Abstract Number: 2977 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
A Meta-Analysis of Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Background/Purpose: To assess the benefits and harms of phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5) for the treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP).Methods: The Cochrane library, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Clinicaltrials.gov…Abstract Number: 2978 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Longitudinal Assessment of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in the Prospective Registry of Early Systemic Sclerosis Cohort
Background/Purpose: The Prospective Registry of Early Systemic Sclerosis (PRESS) is a multicenter incident cohort study of patients with early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc; <…Abstract Number: 2979 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Laser Speckled Imaging and Videomicroscopy Assessment of Sublingual Perfusion in Systemic Sclerosis and Healthy Controls
Background/Purpose: Our group has previously described the sublingual frenulum abnormalities in systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma). The goal of this project was to assess microvascular abnormalities…Abstract Number: 2980 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Assessment of Sublingual Frenulum Perfusion in Systemic Sclerosis
Background/Purpose: SSc is characterized by vasculopathy that precedes fibrosis and progresses to end-stage vascular manifestations such as malnutrition due to gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) involvement. Clinical…Abstract Number: 2981 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Measurement of Tissue Damage in Scleroderma Using Digital Mammographic Xrays: A Proof of Concept Study
Background/Purpose: We have used digital mammographic soft tissue Xrays of the fingers from patients with Scleroderma and related conditons to show damage related to the…Abstract Number: 2982 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Blood Perfusion in Different Skin Areas of Hands in Primary Raynaud’s Phenomenon and Systemic Sclerosis Patients
Background/Purpose: Peripheral blood perfusion is reduced in patients affected by both primary (PRP) or secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon (SRP) (1-2). The objective of this study was…Abstract Number: 2984 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Scleroderma Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid Thrombin Activity: Correlation with Pulmonary Function
Background/Purpose: Multiple lines of evidence identify thrombin as an important mediator of lung fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc). In addition to demonstrating dramatically high levels…Abstract Number: 2985 • 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting
Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF) Use in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) Patients with a Designation of Elevated Systolic Pulmonary Artery Pressure (sPAP): Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Outcomes and Survival from the European Scleroderma Trials and Research (EUSTAR) Database
Background/Purpose : SSc related PH carries a high mortality; with SSc-PH related to restrictive lung disease (RLD) having worse prognosis and more rapid time to…