[Clinical, immunological, and electrophysiological matching in Raynaud's syndrome]

Detailed description of Raynaud's syndrome (RS) dates back to the 19th century; nevertheless, this problem is still topical because of high prevalence of the syndrome (4 to 5% of population), and the fact that different specialists have to deal with it. The authors of the article studied clinical, immunological, and electrophysiological peculiarities of 103 patients with RS, both primary and secondary one. The examination included measurement of the level of antibodies to nerve growth factor (NGF) and myeline basic protein (MBP) and electroneuromyography. All the subjects displayed significant elevation of serum titer of MBP and NGF antibodies, and lowered peripheral nerve impulse conduction velocity (ICV). There was a direct correlation between antibody titer and the severity of the disease, and inverse correlation between ICV of sensory nervous fibers and the severity of the disease. Thus, RS is almost always associated with peripheral sensory fiber pathology, whose clinical manifestation consists in demyelinating polyneuropathy of autoimmune origin; the more prominent demyelinization, the higher the degree of disease severity.