Microvascular involvement in systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Abstract

Microvascular changes play central roles in the pathophysiology of SSc and SLE, and represent major causes of morbidity and mortality in these patients. Therefore, clinical tools that can assess the microvasculature are of great importance both at the time of diagnosis and follow-up of these cases. These tools include capillaroscopy, laser imaging techniques, infrared thermography, and iontophoresis. In this review, we examined the clinical manifestations and pathobiology of microvascular involvement in SSc and SLE as well as the methodologies used to evaluate the microvasculature.