Heating of the neck or elbows alleviates Raynaud's phenomenon but has different effects on different types of patients with systemic sclerosis.

OBJECTIVES

We previously reported that heating of the neck or elbows alleviated Raynaud's phenomenon in patients with systemic sclerosis and upregulated capillary extension factor angiopoietin-1 (Angpt-1) in the fingertips. In this study, we investigated which cases responded better to the effect of heating of the neck or elbows.

METHODS

The pre- to postheating change in the visual analogue scale (ΔVAS) for Raynaud's phenomenon was examined for correlation with age, disease duration, autoantibodies, disease types, corticosteroid dose, capillaroscopic nailfold capillary damage, fingertip Angpt-1 concentrations at baseline, and increased rate of Angpt-1 concentration.

RESULTS

The ΔVAS for elbow heating correlated positively with the baseline Angpt-1 concentration, whereas opposite correlation was observed for neck heating. The other items did not significantly correlate with the ΔVAS; however, the ΔVAS for elbow heating tended to be larger in patients with advanced capillary damage, whereas an opposite trend was observed for neck heating.

CONCLUSIONS

Elbow and neck heating alleviated Raynaud's phenomenon to a similar extent, but their mechanism was different. Heating of the elbows had a greater effect on patients with advanced capillary damage and lower fingertip Angpt-1 concentrations.