The natural history of changes in skin thickening in diffuse scleroderma is quite variable, but the significance of these changes is not clear. Clinical trials are using changes in skin thickening as the primary outcome measure, and thus it would be helpful to determine the significance of improvement in skin thickening. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether improvement in skin thickening over time was associated with improved survival.
Georgetown University Medical Center, Division of Rheumatology, Immunology & Allergy, Department of Medicine, Washington, DC 20007, USA. steenv@gunet.georgetown.edu
