Scleredema
A dermatologic disorder characterized by hardening and thickening of the skin, typically over the face, neck, upper back, and shoulders or other areas of skin, but not over the hands or feet. Scleredema comes from scler- (hard) + edema (swelling). Scleredema should not be confused with scleroderma which is a distinct and different disease.
The majority (about two-thirds) of cases of scleredema occur in people with diabetes, usually long-standing difficult-to-control diabetes, mainly men (10 men to each woman). A minority (about a quarter) of cases of scleredema occur after an infection (often a strep throat) in younger people, females more often than males. About half of these cases resolve spontaneously within 2 years.
Scleredema is also called Buschke’s scleredema or Buschke disease, after the German dermatologist Abraham Buschke (1868-1943) who described it (and died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp). The disease is also called scleredema adultorum (although it can occur in children, too).
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- Sclerencephaly
Scarring and shrinkage of the substance of the brain. Sclerencephaly occurs because of chronic inflammation of the brain matter.
- Scleritis
Inflammation of the sclera. Scleritis causes local pain and can cause vision loss. Scleritis can occur with diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Wegener’s granulomatosis, and lupus. Treatment may include use of anti-inflammatory and cortisone medications taken by mouth, intravenously, or injected into the eye.
- Sclero-
(Or scler-) A confusing prefix that can refer exclusively to hardness (from the Greek “skleros” meaning hard) but that can also refer to the sclera of the eye. Sclerodactyly, for example, is localized thickening and tightness of the skin of the fingers or toes and scleroderma is disease of connective tissue with the formation of […]
- Scleroconjunctival
Pertaining to both the sclera and the conjunctiva. The sclera, a tough white outer coat that covers most of the back of the eyeball, is continuous in the front of the eye with the cornea. The conjunctiva is a clear moist membrane that covers the inner surfaces of the eyelids and the front of eyeball.
- Sclerodactyly
Localized thickening and tightness of the skin of the fingers or toes. Sclerodactyly is commonly associated with atrophy of the underlying soft tissues. Sclerodactyly is a characteristic feature of scleroderma.