DESCRIPTION:
First described in 1972, mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is an autoimmune disease that encompasses symptoms of three other rheumatoid autoimmune diseases: systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma and polymyositis. Patients with this pattern illness have features of each of these three diseases. MCTD can occur at any age, with the average age of onset between the teens to the 30s. Eight out of ten patients are women.
How does mixed connective tissue disease develop?
The connective tissues are the structural elements that hold the cells of the body together. These tissues form a framework or matrix for the body. The connective tissues are composed of two major structural molecules: collagen and elastin. Connective tissue diseases feature abnormalities involving the collagen and elastin and are often characterized by a variety of immune abnormalities. Lab tests show that most patients diagnosed with MCTD have high levels of anti-nuclear antibodies as well as antibodies to ribonucleoprotein (anti-RNP). Because mixed connective tissue disease is up to 15 times more common among women than men, some theorize that the condition is related to hormones.
What are the symptoms of mixed connective tissue disease?
Typically, symptoms of MCTD mimic symptoms of other rheumatoid diseases and can vary from person to person. Early symptoms can be subtle and are sometimes disregarded until the disease progresses. Initial symptoms often include Raynaud's phenomenon in response to cold (blood vessel spasm followed by numbness and whiteness in fingers and toes); swollen fingers or hands; rashes (including butterfly rash on the nose, similar to the rash caused by lupus); red patches over the knuckles; purplish discoloration of the eyelids; alopecia (hair loss); telangiectasia (dilation of blood vessels), causing lesions on the hands and face; irritable bowel and other digestive problems; allergies; fatigue; sleep disturbances; and sore throat.
Symptoms of MCTD can progress gradually or rapidly. In some people, MCTD remains mild for years, then will flare up and create a medical crisis. As the disease progresses, more body systems are affected. More advanced symptoms may include arthritis (usually non-deforming, but erosive deformities like those caused by rheumatoid arthritis can develop); muscle weakness or pain in the joints or muscles; abnormalities of the esophagus; frequent infections in the gums, stomach and lungs; pleuritis (inflammation of membranes surrounding the lungs), which may cause shortness of breath or more serious problems; kidney disease; and heart disease.
Conventional medical treatments may help relieve the symptoms of MCTD but they do not address the root of the problem. Generally, by undergoing comprehensive natural medicine testing, the reasons the body is producing antibodies against itself can be found. Some of these reasons include sensitivities or allergies to foods, inhalants and chemicals and various infections.
Discover why we believe that natural medicine treatments are the best way to treat mixed connective tissue disease.
