Mixed connective tissue disease
Classification and external resources
DiseasesDB	8312
eMedicine	med/3417
MeSH	D008947

In medicine, mixed connective tissue disease, commonly abbreviated as MCTD, is an autoimmune disease, in which the body's defense system attacks itself. It is also known as Sharp syndrome.

[edit] Clinical features

MCTD combines features of scleroderma, myositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis^[1] (with some sources adding polymyositis, dermatomyositis, and inclusion body myositis)^[2] and is thus considered an overlap syndrome.

MCTD commonly causes:

• joint pain/swelling,
• malaise,
• Raynaud phenomenon,
• Sjögren's syndrome,
• muscle inflammation, and
• sclerodactyly (thickening of the skin of the pads of the fingers)

Distinguishing laboratory characteristics are a positive, speckled anti-nuclear antibody and an anti-U1-RNP antibody.^[3]

It has been associated with HLA-DR4.^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Information on MCTD from MedicineNet.com

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v • d • e Systemic CT disorders (M32-M36, 710) Mixed connective tissue disease Systemic lupus erythematosus: Drug-induced SLE · Libman-Sacks endocarditis Dermatopolymyositis/Inflammatory myopathy/Myositis: Dermatomyositis (Juvenile dermatomyositis) · Polymyositis · Inclusion body myositis Scleroderma: Systemic scleroderma (Progressive systemic sclerosis, CREST syndrome) Other hypersensitivity/autoimmune Sjögren's syndrome Other Behçet's disease · Polymyalgia rheumatica · Eosinophilic fasciitis · Eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome muscle, DF+DRCT navs: anat/hist/physio, acquired myopathy/congenital myopathy/neoplasia, symptoms+signs/eponymous, proc