Morphea is a skin condition that causes patches of reddish skin that thicken into firm, oval-shaped areas. It is a form of scleroderma. Patches most often occur on the abdomen, stomach, and back, and sometimes on the face, arms and legs.

Can morphea turn into scleroderma?

Morphea is sometimes referred to as “localized scleroderma”. However, despite their similar names, patients with morphea are not at increased risk of developing internal organ scleroderma involvement (systemic sclerosis). In morphea, the immune system mistakenly causes inflammation of the skin.

What's the difference between scleroderma and morphea?

Scleroderma is a disease of unknown origin that affects the microvasculature and loose connective tissues of the body and is characterized by fibrosis and obliteration of vessels in the skin, lungs, gut, kidneys and heart. Morphea is a localized form of scleroderma and affects primarily just the skin.

What is morphea in scleroderma?

Morphea is an autoimmune disease that causes sclerosis, or scarlike, changes to the skin. Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system, which normally protects us from bacteria, viruses, and fungi, mistakenly attacks a person's own body.

How rare is morphea scleroderma?

Morphea is a rare type of skin condition that results in areas of skin becoming hardened and discolored. These plaques can occur on several areas, including the face and neck, hands, feet, back, and chest. Morphea may also appear on the legs and arms. It affects fewer than 3 out of every 100,000 people.

Localized Scleroderma (Morphea)- Lisa Pappas-Taffer, M.D.- 2018 Patient Education Conference

Can morphea be misdiagnosed?

Its clinical findings are diverse, ranging from erythematous to hypopigmented or hyperpigmented patches or plaques¹. Due to this variability, morphea may be misdiagnosed especially by non-dermatologists as pigmentary disorders such as vitiligo².

What kind of doctor treats morphea?

You may start by seeing your primary care doctor. He or she may refer you to a doctor who specializes in skin disorders (dermatologist) or a specialist in diseases of the joints, bones and muscles (rheumatologist).

Is morphea scleroderma fatal?

Localized scleroderma is not a fatal disease, but quality of life is often adversely affected because of changes in the appearance of the skin, the occurrence of joint contractures that affect movement, and, rarely, serious deformities of the face and extremities.

What causes morphea scleroderma?

The cause of morphea is unknown. It may be caused by an unusual reaction of your immune system. In people at increased risk of morphea, it could be triggered by injury to the affected area, medications, chemical toxins, an infection or radiation therapy. The condition isn't contagious.

What were your first symptoms of scleroderma?

• Thickening and swelling of the fingers.
• Pale fingers that may become numb and tingle when exposed to cold or stress, known as Raynaud's phenomenon.
• Joint pain.
• Taut, shiny, darker skin on large areas, which can cause problems with movement.

What is the life expectancy for someone with scleroderma?

People who have localized scleroderma may live an uninterrupted life with only minor symptom experiences and management. On the other hand, those diagnosed with an advanced and systemic version of the disease have a prognosis of anywhere from three to 15 years.

What autoimmune disease causes Morphea?

It is thought to be isolated to the skin without internal organ involvement as seen in systemic sclerosis (commonly known as scleroderma). Morphea is an autoimmune disorder (such as type I diabetes, lupus, vitiligo, or multiple sclerosis, among others).

What can mimic Morphea?

Generalized morphea

There is a female to male predominance of 2.6:1 and more than half the cases are seen in children. GM usually presents with erythematous, inflammatory, and sometimes pruritic patches on the chest, abdomen, back, and limbs.

Where does scleroderma usually start?

Another early sign of systemic scleroderma is puffy or swollen hands before thickening and hardening of the skin due to fibrosis. Skin thickening usually occurs first in the fingers (called sclerodactyly) and may also involve the hands and face.

What foods should be avoided with scleroderma?

Avoid eating two to three hours before bed- time. Avoid foods that may aggra- vate symptoms such as citrus fruits, tomato products, greasy fried foods, coffee, garlic, onions, peppermint, gas-producing foods (such as raw peppers, beans, broccoli or raw onions), spicy foods, carbonated beverages and alcohol.

What do scleroderma lesions look like?

These patches may be shaped like ovals or straight lines, or cover wide areas of the trunk and limbs. The number, location and size of the patches vary by type of scleroderma. Skin can appear shiny because it's so tight, and movement of the affected area may be restricted. Fingers or toes.

Is morphea hereditary?

About half of all morphea patients are children, though the condition is not hereditary. Without treatment, the lesions often go away on their own within three to five years, but new lesions usually appear over a person's lifetime.

Who gets morphea?

Morphea is more common in women than in men. It can occur in both children and adults, and is usually diagnosed in school-aged children between the ages of 2 and 14 or in adults in their 50s. Morphea is more common in people of European descent .

Does stress cause scleroderma?

We agree that susceptibility, progression and clinical presentation of scleroderma are influenced by a strong interplay of several factors, of which one is psychosocial stress (2–5). Our preliminary findings further suggest that mechanical stress is involved in the onset, continuation and exacerbation of scleroderma.

What is the most fatal autoimmune disease?

Giant cell myocarditis: most fatal of autoimmune diseases.

Which is worse scleroderma or lupus?

— Worse than in rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have worse health-related quality of life than patients with other systemic rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a Korean study found.

Is disability hard to get with scleroderma?

To qualify for disability benefits for scleroderma, either from social security or from a private disability carrier, you must show not only that you have scleroderma, but you must also present medical evidence that your scleroderma causes symptoms that impair your functionality to the extent that they disable you from ...

How do you treat morphea at home?

1. Moisturize your skin. The main morphea symptoms are tight, hard, and dry discolored patches on the skin. ...
2. Get out in the sun. ...
3. Try phototherapy. ...
4. Use a medicated cream. ...
5. Avoid itchy situations.

What is Generalised morphea?

Generalized morphea is defined as more than 4 indurated plaques larger than 3 cm each and/or involving 2 of more of 7 anatomic sites (head-neck, each extremity, anterior trunk, and posterior trunk) but sparing the face and hands.

Does morphea cause weight gain?

Acute localized scleroderma (morphea) can present as severe generalized oedema with rapid weight gain and oliguria.