Scleroderma Oesophagus

! Seek urgent medical care if warning signs appear

Some health conditions or symptoms can become urgent. Use this page for education, but seek help quickly if warning signs are present.

Get urgent medical care now if there is any severe, sudden, rapidly worsening or worrying symptom, especially:

chest pain, pressure or pain spreading to the arm, jaw or back
trouble breathing, blue lips, severe wheeze or choking
stroke-like symptoms such as face drooping, arm weakness or speech trouble
collapse, fainting, seizure, confusion or extreme drowsiness
severe bleeding, black stools, vomiting blood or major injury
severe allergic reaction, swelling of the face/throat or widespread rash with breathing trouble
severe abdominal pain, severe headache, stiff neck or sudden vision change
signs of severe dehydration, sepsis, high fever with worsening illness, or symptoms in a baby/young child that concern you

Connected health information

Explore this condition in a clear order

1. Attributes 2. Signs & symptoms 3. Drugs / medications 4. Treatments by type 5. Further tests / investigations 6. Biological / test markers

Linked signs and symptoms

0

No related signs or symptoms are listed yet.

Linked drugs / medications

4

Medication information is educational only. A doctor or pharmacist should advise whether any medicine is appropriate.

Treatments, therapies and supportive options

12

Grouped by treatment type. These are educational database links, not personal treatment recommendations. Evidence labels are shown only where stored in the EH database.

Medical procedures and investigations

1

Botulinum Toxin A Injection (Botox)

Surgery

2

Endoscopic procedures

1

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD)

Medical therapy

4

Lifestyle changes

2

Alternative and complementary therapies

1

Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica, Hydrocotyle Asiatica)

Alternative medicine

1

Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica, Hydrocotyle Asiatica)Weakly in Favour(Low Evidence)

Linked diagnostic tests and investigations

1

These are pulled from both EH diagnostic-test link tables, including the older large test-link table.

Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) ConcentrationBlood Enzymes / Blood Studies

Biological markers/agents

1

This visual map shows biological markers/agents reported as increased or decreased with this condition. These are educational relationships only; test results must be interpreted by a qualified clinician because ranges vary by lab, method, age, sex and clinical context.

Often increased

1

Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE)Reference range exampleAll: 0–45 units/LLinked diagnostic testsAngiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Concentration

Often decreased

0

No markers in this group.

Introduction / full article

ID 2088

Efficacy of Alternative and Other Treatments According to GRADE* Ranking:

Gotu Kola (Centella Asiatica, Hydrocotyle Asiatica)[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]:

Please note, this management does NOT treat the condition itself. It may mildly help with some of the symptoms, and even then has insufficient evidence to back up this claim at present.

Recommendation: Weakly in favor(A few clinical trials have shown that Gotu Kola may be helpful in the treatment of scleroderma. However, further research is needed)

Grade of Evidence: low quality of evidence

* www.gradeworkinggroup.org

References

1. Suto G, Czirjak L. Oesophageal involvement in scleroderma. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2009;27

Summary References

Treatments:

1. Ades T, Alteri R, Gansler T, Yeargin P, "Complete Guide to Complimentary & Alternative Cancer Therapies", American Cancer Society, Atlanta USA, 2009

2. Winston, D., Maimes, S., Adaptogens: Herbs For Strength, Stamina, and Stress Relief, 2007, pp. 226-7

3. "A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study on the Effects of Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) on Acoustic Startle Response in Healthy Subjects". Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. 20(6):680-684, December 2000. Bradwejn, Jacques MD, FRCPC *; Zhou, Yueping MD, PhD ++; Koszycki, Diana PhD *; Shlik, Jakov MD, PhD

4. B. M. Hausen (1993) "Centella asiatica (Indian pennywort), an effective therapeutic but a weak sensitizer." Contact Dermatitis 29 (4), 175–179 doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.1993.tb03532.x

5. Cataldo, A., Gasbarro, V., et al., "Effectiveness of the Combination of Alpha Tocopherol, Rutin, Melilotus, and Centella asiatica in The Treatment of Patients With Chronic Venous Insufficiency", Minerva Cardioangiology, 2001, Apr; 49(2):159-63

6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotu_kola#Medicinal_effects

7. http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/gotu-kola