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 (.VAS) 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.VAS 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.VAS; however, the.VAS 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.