aetiology
Last reviewed 01/2018
This is unknown but:
- high titres of circulating speckled or nucleolar antinuclear antibody has been found in up to 60% of cases
- familial cases have been documented
- HLA-B8 and DR3 haplotypes occur frequently
- environmental factors may, in some cases, play an initiating role:
- agents inducing scleroderma include benzene, silica, epoxy resin, trichloroethylene, vinyl chloride, drugs (e.g. cocaine, carbidopa, bleomycin).