Ricerc@Sapienza

Purpose: Cardiac involvement in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is increasingly recognized as a mayor cause of morbidity and mortality. The aim of present study is to investigate the early stages of cardiac involvement in SSc by Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), combining the non-invasive detection of myocardial inflammation and fibrosis using T2 and T1 mapping techniques and the assessment of microcirculatory impairment through perfusion response to cold pressor test (CPT).

Objective. Renal involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) ranges from urinary abnormalities, reduction of glomerular filtration rate, and high renal resistive index, to scleroderma renal crisis. Intrarenal resistance indices are considered markers of renal SSc-associated vasculopathy. The aim of this study is to evaluate renal morphological variables, such as renal length, parenchymal thickness, atrophy index, and renal sinus in patients with SSc and to correlate it with renal function and hemodynamic variables. Methods.