Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data
Citation:
Röhrich S, Knipe H, Undifferentiated connective tissue disease. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 01 Jul 2024) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-171044
Disclosures:
At the time the article was created Sebastian Röhrich had the following disclosures:
- contextflow GmbH, Medical advisor (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to
not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Sebastian Röhrich's current disclosures
Disclosures:
At the time the article was last revised Henry Knipe had the following disclosures:
- Integral Diagnostics, Shareholder (ongoing)
- Micro-X Ltd, Shareholder (ongoing)
These were assessed during peer review and were determined to
not be relevant to the changes that were made.
View Henry Knipe's current disclosures
Undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD) is a type of connective tissue disease. UCTD should not be confused with mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) as these two entities describe patient populations with different characteristics.
UCTD comprises patients who have clinical characteristics and serological markers that are compatible with a systemic connective tissue disease. However, these characteristics are not specific enough for a classification to a more defined disease (e.g. systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, myositis, or rheumatoid arthritis) 1.
In the case of "overlap syndromes", patients show clinical characteristics and serological markers that fit several of the defined diseases. Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is one of these overlap syndromes.
Still, if patients with UCTD are followed over a few years, a part of the them may develop a defined disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or Sjogren's syndrome 2-4. The remaining patients will remain unclassifiable and organ involvement is less common in this group 1.
If present, imaging findings may hint at one of the underlying more specific diseases that have not yet developed in full:
History and etymology
The first mention of the concept of UCTD was in 1980 by E. Carwile LeRoy and colleagues 5.
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1. Pepmueller P. Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease, Mixed Connective Tissue Disease, and Overlap Syndromes in Rheumatology. Mo Med. 2016;113(2):136-40. PMC6139943 - Pubmed
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2. Bodolay E, Csiki Z, Szekanecz Z et al. Five-Year Follow-Up of 665 Hungarian Patients with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease (UCTD). Clin Exp Rheumatol. 2003;21(3):313-20. - Pubmed
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3. Mosca M, Tani C, Neri C, Baldini C, Bombardieri S. Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Diseases (UCTD). Autoimmun Rev. 2006;6(1):1-4. doi:10.1016/j.autrev.2006.03.004 - Pubmed
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4. Conti V, Esposito A, Cagliuso M et al. Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Disease - an Unsolved Problem:revision of Literature and Case Studies. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol. 2010;23(1):271-8. doi:10.1177/039463201002300125 - Pubmed
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5. LeRoy E, Maricq H, Kahaleh M. Undifferentiated Connective Tissue Syndromes. Arthritis Rheum. 1980;23(3):341-3. doi:10.1002/art.1780230312 - Pubmed
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