PURPOSE: The present study was aimed at assessing the influence of age on clinical and biological features of @entity785 . METHODS: This retrospective study included 151 consecutive @entity1 with @entity785 . The median age at diagnosis was 50.0 years (range: 10-84 years). @entity1 were divided into two groups according to their age (lower than 50.0 years of age: 73 @entity1 , equal to or above 50 years of age: 78 @entity1 ). The following features were compared between the two groups: gender, disease duration, extent of @entity272 , @entity4067 , @entity82 , secondary Sj  gren's syndrome, antinuclear, anticentromere, and anti-Scl70 antibodies. RESULTS: The disease duration was significantly higher in @entity1 over 50 years of age (7.1 +/- 6.8 years vs 5.5 +/- 5.0 years, P < 0.05). @entity4067 , secondary Sj  gren's syndrome and anticentromere antibodies were significantly more common in @entity1 over 50 years of age (17/73 vs 30/78, @entity6585 (-2); 9/73 vs 20/78, @entity6585 (-2), and 19/73 vs 31/78, P < 0.05; respectively). Anti-Scl70 antibodies were significantly more common in @entity1 under 50 years of age (17/73 vs 10/78, @entity6585 (-2)). No significant difference was found in regard to the other features. CONCLUSION: The clinical and biological patterns of @entity785 are different according to the age at disease onset. @entity4067 including anticentromere antibodies and Sj  gren's syndrome is more common in elderly patients, while anti- Scl-70 antibodies are more common in younger @entity1 . This suggests the involvement of various mechanisms in the pathogenesis of @entity785 , and that these mechanisms may depend on the age.

[Influence of age on the clinical and biological characteristics of XXXX ].

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients'] @entity6585 :: ('6281', 'Gene') :: ['P < 10'] @entity82 :: ('MESH:D005355', 'Disease') :: ['lung fibrosis'] @entity4067 :: ('MESH:D017675', 'Disease') :: ['Crest syndrome'] @entity272 :: ('MESH:D012871', 'Disease') :: ['skin sclerosis'] @entity785 :: ('MESH:D012595', 'Disease') :: ['systemic sclerosis']
@entity785 :: (MESH:D012595,Disease) :: ['systemic scleroderma']
