Structural and Functional Impairment of Multiple Organs in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis: A MR Imaging Study

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This study intends to carry out a prospective, multi-center cohort study based on MRI to explore the incidence of structural and functional damage of central, brain and kidney in patiant with SSc and its clinical relevance, and to search for the characteristics of serological markers of structural and functional damage of heart, brain and kidney.

Detailed Description
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Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a autoimmune disease of unknown etiology with an estimated global incidence of 0.1‰. SSc characterized by abnormal immune activation, neovascularization, vascular remodeling in pathology, and eventually leads to fibrosis of tissues, skin, and organs [2]. In addition to skin sclerosis, SSc often involved multiple organ involvement, such as finger ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, cardiomyopathy, kidney damage, etc. Neuropsychiatric manifestations such as anxiety and depression may also occur in SSc patients. A long-term follow-up study indicated that cardiomyopathy (14%), cardiovascular disease (12%), and kidney injury (4%) were important causes of death in SSc patients. Therefore, early diagnosis and early intervention for multi-organ complications of SSc can significantly prolong the survival time of SSc patients.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive, radiation-free imaging examination method with excellent soft tissue contrast, which can achieve one-stop multi-parameter imaging. At present, MRI has been widely used to accurately diagnose and evaluate the structure and function of organs such as heart, brain and kidney. Previous literature has shown that cardiac MRI can identify cardiac injury in patients with SSc earlier than echocardiography even in the early stage. Meanwhile it can find the abnormalities before clinical symptoms. Therefore, MRI is an effective noninvasive imaging method to evaluate the structural and functional damage of heart, brain and kidney in SSc patients.

Official Title
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Structural and Functional Impairment of Multiple Organs in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis: A MR Imaging Study

Conditions
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Systemic Sclerosis, Multisystem Disorder

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: MRI


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Clinical diagnosis of systemic sclerosis Exclusion Criteria: Complicated with other immune disease Claustrophobia Contraindications for MR examination Heart or respiratory failure Diseases that affect MR findings (e.g. rapid atrial fibrillation) Complicated with heart, brain and kidney diseases not caused by SSc（such as diabetic nephropathy and congenital heart disease） Pregnant Disturbance of consciousness

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 75 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| SSc patiant<br>We recruited 95 patients with systemic sclerosis | Other: MRI<br>* No intervention was performed in this study.<br>|
| health control<br>We recruited 95 healthy people for control | Other: MRI<br>* No intervention was performed in this study.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The incidence of structural and functional disorders of heart, brain and kidney in SSc patients. | The incidence of structural and functional disorders of heart, brain and kidney in SSc patients. | 1year. |