Abstract
A 45-year-old woman who had undergone allogenic bone marrow transplant (BMT) for chronic myeloid leukemia at the age of 43, developed chronic GVHD. A physical examination revealed systemic scleroderma similar to skin sclerosis on her forearms. The histopathology of forearm skin was also consistent with scleroderma. Serum anti-nuclear antibody and lupus anticoagulant were positive, but no other autoantibodies were detected. Aphasia due to cerebrovascular infarctions and thrombosis of the mesenteric arteries were found. This case was thus diagnosed to have scleroderma-like chronic GVHD associated with antiphospholipid syndrome. An evaluation of the present case and similar cases may thus provide us with some insight into the pathomechanisms of scleroderma and antiphospholipid syndrome.
