Study: Blood Viscosity Shown to Be Elevated in Scleroderma Patients

New research demonstrated significantly higher blood viscosity in scleroderma patients over health controls and, among scleroderma patients, higher blood viscosity in patients having active digital (finger) ulcers over those scleroderma patients that did not.

Scleroderma, also called systemic sclerosis, is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues, resulting in the formation of scar tissue and a hardening of the skin and internal organs. Women are more commonly affected than men, and patients are generally between the ages of 30 and 50. Approximately 300,000 people in the U.S. are affected with scleroderma.Over 90 percent of scleroderma patients develop what is called Raynaud’s phenomenon characterized by blue and red discoloration of the hands and often leading to painful digital (finger) ulcers. Although Raynaud’s phenomenon is known to be closely related to the regulation of blood flow in the fingers, it is not yet understood why only some patients with scleroderma develop the ulcers. Furthermore, the root causes of scleroderma and also of Raynaud’s phenomenon are not well understood.The University of Chicago study included a healthy control group matched by age, gender, race and body-mass index and 33 randomly selected scleroderma patients. Among the scleroderma patients were those with active digital (finger) ulcers and those without. Using a blood viscometer, it was demonstrated that scleroderma patients with active digital ulcers had significantly higher blood viscosity than those without the ulcers. The difference was more pronounced in the low shear rate range of blood flow (i.e., under conditions where blood is moving slowly as in the microvessels). Overall, scleroderma patients had significantly higher blood viscosity than healthy controls.Kenneth Kensey, MD, said, “The importance of blood viscosity is easily accepted by rheumatologists because they already use a parameter called erythrocyte sedimentation rate (‘ESR’ or ‘sed’ rate), which is a very primitive analog of the whole blood viscosity profiles generated by our Rheolog(R) device. This Chicago study demonstrates the importance of measuring blood viscosity in patients with scleroderma as a potential predictor of the onset of Raynaud’s.”Interestingly, we see a higher risk of heart attack and stroke in scleroderma patients, but what I believe is more important is that poor blood flow is being recognized as a common link driving a number of different diseases. Whether we are talking about the amputated fingers of a scleroderma patient, the amputation of the leg of a diabetic with peripheral vascular disease, glaucoma, macular degeneration, Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia, or more generally, heart attacks and strokes, we need to understand thoroughly how the flow of blood impacts the progression of disease. While these diseases and many others are still incurable, understanding blood flow can help us greatly improve the quality of care we provide and the quality of life for our patients. Whole blood viscosity is the parameter that quantifies the blood’s ability to flow and has the potential to unleash a wave of medical advances.”(Source: University of Chicago : February 2007.)