Haemorheological profile in patients with systemic sclerosis

The relationship between rheological alterations and systemic sclerosis (SSc) is not well established. We have determined in 27 patients with SSc (4 male, 21 female ) aged 59 +/- 14 years and in a well matched control group the whole rheological profile, i.e. blood viscosity (BV), plasma viscosity (PV), erythrocyte aggregation (EA), erythrocyte deformability (ED) along with fibrinogen (Fbg), C-reactive protein (CRP), lipids, and erythrocyte indices. Patients show higher Fbg, PV and EA (P<0.01) and lower ED (P<0.01). A negative significant correlation was found between ED and inflammation markers, both CRP (P<0.05) and Fbg (P<0.01), indicating that decreased ED seems to be related to inflammatory changes at microcirculatory levels. In addition, patients with anticentromere antibodies show significantly lower ED than those without (P<0.05). The clinical significance of this observation needs to be clarified, deserving further research.