Health Watch: On the crest of a cure for cold skin.(Features)

AN antibiotic commonly in use for the last 20 years is causing excitement in the medical profession as they search for a cure for scleroderma, one of the conditions in Raynaud's syndrome where the blood supply doesn't reach the extremities such as hands or feet, ears and nose. It could bring hope to people like Helen Birch who suffers from the milder form of scleroderma known as crest. Like the 3,000 or so diagnosed with Raynaud's in Northern Ireland she dreads the onset of winter.

By SANDRA CHAPMAN

AMERICAN scientists have discovered that the antibiotic minocycline is proving effective against scleroderma, a debilitating auto-immune disease which affects the skin.

A year-long pilot study has shown that those in the early stages of the condition can get total relief by taking the drug twice a day.

It's the sort of news that Helen Birch of Bangor pins her hopes on as she views the wintry days ahead with no prospect of her getting back on to the local golf course until temperatures rise above 15 degrees again.

Raynaud's syndrome is when Raynaud's itself is associated with other diseases and conditions such as crest which Helen suffers from. Scleroderma is when the skin on the hands and feet become stiff, tight and shiny caused when the body produces too much collagen, the major protein of the connective tissue. Crest is the milder form

The connection between the two conditions is that scleroderma can occur many years after Raynaud's itself. Raynaud's is caused when the blood vessel closes down causing the finger or toe, or nose or ear to lose its blood supply and become numb and white. As the affected area is rewarmed an increased blood supply returns and the affected extremity becomes red and painful.

It's a condition that can affect all ages, but females suffer most. The youngest Raynaud's sufferer in the UK is believed to be 18-month old Cara Watson who lives with her parents in Orkney where the weather can be cold even in summer.

Helen was always an extremely fit person and as a teenager regularly did the Pickie to Pier swim. And it was coming in from such a swim that she realised one of her fingers would go numb.

As is the case with Raynaud's sometimes the condition can then go away for years but return at some later point. And this is what happened to Helen. She was in her mid-forties when she again noticed that cold water affected her fingers.

She says: "I thought it was something to do with my hormones. Then when I was about 40 I had to go for a barium meal test and this showed up a bad reflux action. A consultant thought I had a hiatus hernia. My nails started going stiff and rigid and my doctor thought I was suffering from low iron levels.

"I found I had to be fairly careful with my diet. I could eat a scone, but not one heated up. Finally I was diagnosed with crest which is part of the Raynaud's syndrome. I would have little red spots on my skin and deposits of calcium under the skin.

"Mine isn't too bad; I know of one woman who had lumps of calcium on her elbows which had to be surgically removed. My bone density level is good but I believe these deposits can affect the major organs such as the kidney and lungs."

Helen would have trouble daily with the reflux and she copes with the Raynaud's in the way most sufferers do, by wearing special gloves, and keeping the central heating on all day in winter. She says: "I daren't let myself get cold for any length of time. I've seen an attack come on while I've tried to get from the front door to the car. I can't go near Tesco's freezer department."

She tries not to pamper herself too much: "If I have my hand warmers I feel a lot better and it always helps to see nice, warm colours. Wet, cold and windy weather such as this is my worst combination."

The one drawback is that she cannot play golf in winter. Last year she was Lady Captain at Bangor Club. This week she was forced to put away her clubs. Keeping fit is important to her and she continues to swim - at an indoor pool.

Doctors at Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast are conducting research into Raynaud's. One of the theories is that sufferers may have an imbalance in the chemicals the body creates to produce relaxation or spasm in the blood vessels. They want to see if people have an inborn susceptibility to produce these chemicals in an imbalanced way.

At the moment the only treatment for the condition is drugs. There can be an hereditary factor in Raynaud's. Helen's aunt had it and lived to 97. A niece in her early 30's is showing signs of it.

She says: "I've had it steadily now for approximately 10 years but mine is stabilised. I have this feeling that five years down the line they'll find the answer to it."

l Raynaud's & Scleroderma Association telephone 01270 872776. The Northern Ireland Support Group 01232 851210

Health Watch: On the crest of a cure for cold skin.(Features)

AN antibiotic commonly in use for the last 20 years is causing excitement in the medical profession as they search for a cure for scleroderma, one of the conditions in Raynaud's syndrome where the blood supply doesn't reach the extremities such as hands or feet, ears and nose. It could bring hope to people like Helen Birch who suffers from the milder form of scleroderma known as crest. Like the 3,000 or so diagnosed with Raynaud's in Northern Ireland she dreads the onset of winter.

By SANDRA CHAPMAN

AMERICAN scientists have discovered that the antibiotic minocycline is proving effective against scleroderma, a debilitating auto-immune disease which affects the skin.

A year-long pilot study has shown that those in the early stages of the condition can get total relief by taking the drug twice a day.

It's the sort of news that Helen Birch of Bangor pins her hopes on as she views the wintry days ahead with no prospect of her getting back on to the local golf course until temperatures rise above 15 degrees again.

Raynaud's syndrome is when Raynaud's itself is associated with other diseases and conditions such as crest which Helen suffers from. Scleroderma is when the skin on the hands and feet become stiff, tight and shiny caused when the body produces too much collagen, the major protein of the connective tissue. Crest is the milder form

The connection between the two conditions is that scleroderma can occur many years after Raynaud's itself. Raynaud's is caused when the blood vessel closes down causing the finger or toe, or nose or ear to lose its blood supply and become numb and white. As the affected area is rewarmed an increased blood supply returns and the affected extremity becomes red and painful.

It's a condition that can affect all ages, but females suffer most. The youngest Raynaud's sufferer in the UK is believed to be 18-month old Cara Watson who lives with her parents in Orkney where the weather can be cold even in summer.

Helen was always an extremely fit person and as a teenager regularly did the Pickie to Pier swim. And it was coming in from such a swim that she realised one of her fingers would go numb.

As is the case with Raynaud's sometimes the condition can then go away for years but return at some later point. And this is what happened to Helen. She was in her mid-forties when she again noticed that cold water affected her fingers.

She says: "I thought it was something to do with my hormones. Then when I was about 40 I had to go for a barium meal test and this showed up a bad reflux action. A consultant thought I had a hiatus hernia. My nails started going stiff and rigid and my doctor thought I was suffering from low iron levels.

"I found I had to be fairly careful with my diet. I could eat a scone, but not one heated up. Finally I was diagnosed with crest which is part of the Raynaud's syndrome. I would have little red spots on my skin and deposits of calcium under the skin.

"Mine isn't too bad; I know of one woman who had lumps of calcium on her elbows which had to be surgically removed. My bone density level is good but I believe these deposits can affect the major organs such as the kidney and lungs."

Helen would have trouble daily with the reflux and she copes with the Raynaud's in the way most sufferers do, by wearing special gloves, and keeping the central heating on all day in winter. She says: "I daren't let myself get cold for any length of time. I've seen an attack come on while I've tried to get from the front door to the car. I can't go near Tesco's freezer department."

She tries not to pamper herself too much: "If I have my hand warmers I feel a lot better and it always helps to see nice, warm colours. Wet, cold and windy weather such as this is my worst combination."

The one drawback is that she cannot play golf in winter. Last year she was Lady Captain at Bangor Club. This week she was forced to put away her clubs. Keeping fit is important to her and she continues to swim - at an indoor pool.

Doctors at Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast are conducting research into Raynaud's. One of the theories is that sufferers may have an imbalance in the chemicals the body creates to produce relaxation or spasm in the blood vessels. They want to see if people have an inborn susceptibility to produce these chemicals in an imbalanced way.

At the moment the only treatment for the condition is drugs. There can be an hereditary factor in Raynaud's. Helen's aunt had it and lived to 97. A niece in her early 30's is showing signs of it.

She says: "I've had it steadily now for approximately 10 years but mine is stabilised. I have this feeling that five years down the line they'll find the answer to it."

l Raynaud's & Scleroderma Association telephone 01270 872776. The Northern Ireland Support Group 01232 851210