DESCRIPTION OF SCLERODERMA
(to be read over the phone when calling congressional offices)

Scleroderma is a chronic, often progressive, autoimmune disease in which the body's own immune system attacks itself.  The disease, which literally means 'hard skin,' can cause a thickening and tightening of the skin.  In some cases it causes serious damage to internal organs including the lungs, heart, kidneys, esophagus and gastrointestinal tract.

There are an estimated 300,000 people in the United States who have scleroderma, about one third of whom have the systemic form of scleroderma. Diagnosis is difficult and there may be many misdiagnosed or undiagnosed cases as well.

Scleroderma can develop and is found in every age group from infants to the elderly, but its onset is most frequently found in women between the ages of 25 to 55. There are many exceptions to the rules in scleroderma, perhaps more so than in other diseases. Each case is different.