About Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease
What is undifferentiated connective tissue disease?
Undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) is an autoimmune disease. This means the body’s natural immune system does not behave normally. Instead of serving to fight infections such as bacteria and viruses, the body’s own immune system attacks itself. In UCTD, autoimmunity may cause the immune system to attack specific parts of the body resulting in a variety of problems.
The phrase “connective tissue disease” is used to describe the diseases of the immune system that are treated primarily by rheumatologists. These diseases often involve the joints, cartilage, muscles and skin. They can also involve any other organ system such as, the eyes, heart, lungs, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract, bone marrow, nervous system and blood vessels. Examples of connective tissue diseases include systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), scleroderma, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome, myositis , and vasculitis.
There are many people who have features of connective tissue disease, however, they do not fulfill the diagnostic criteria established for any one disease. In such circumstances, they are often considered to have “undifferentiated” connective tissue disease. Over time, people with UCTD may evolve into one of the more specific connective tissue diseases, such as lupus, Sjögren’s, or scleroderma.
What are some of the symptoms of UCTD?
Because UCTD can affect so many different parts of the body, UCTD often has many symptoms.
Common symptoms of undifferentiated connective tissue disorder include:
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Low-grade fevers
- Rash
- Joint pain
- Joint swelling
- Color changes of hands and feet with cold exposure (known as Raynaud’s)
- Dryness of the eyes
- Dryness of the mouth
- Lymph node swelling
- Muscle weakness
- Muscle pains
- Difficulty swallowing
- Heartburn
- Cough
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
Who gets UCTD?
People of all races and ethnic backgrounds develop UCTD. It occurs more commonly in women and rarely occurs in children. Typically UCTD begins when people are between the ages of 30 and 55 years old.
What causes UCTD?
The cause of UCTD is not known. As mentioned above, we do know that UCTD is an autoimmune disease. The abnormal immune response may lead to inflammation and damage of the various organs that are involved in a given individual.
This information has been approved by Aryeh Fischer, MD (April 2008).
