Forty-four patients were investigated, 22 suffering from diffuse scleroderma and 22 from other clinically similar conditions. Horizontal sections were taken from biopsies, both from affected and healthy skin and stained with methylene blue. Histological findings were compared with clinical observations and laboratory data.
The processes of degeneration and regeneration of the nerve network in diffuse scleroderma show some regularity and certain typical features within both the affected and apparently normal skin. On the contrary, in other conditions clinically resembling scleroderma no characteristic changes in the nerve network could be observed.