What does Andy mean? Andy [andy] as a name for girls has its root in Greek, and the meaning of the name Andy is manly, virile. Andy is an alternate form of Andrea (Greek): from the word andreia. Associated with: greek.
Blood tests for scleroderma are done by drawing blood from the vein that is put for further testing. The test helps in detecting the presence of autoimmune and antinuclear antibodies. Sometimes, there might be certain other tests that may be carried along with the blood tests to determine the accuracy of the results.
The prognosis is generally good for limited cutaneous scleroderma persons who escape lung complications, but is worse for those with the diffuse cutaneous disease, particularly in older age and for males. Death occurs most often from lung, heart and kidney complications. In diffuse cutaneous disease, five-year survival is 70% and 10-year survival is 55%. The cause of scleroderma is unknown. It is an autoimmune condition, in which the body's immune system attacks healthy tissues. Strong associations with certain mutations in HLA genes have been identified.