Lupus Overlap Diseases - Mixed Connective Tissue Disease

Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD)

Mixed connective tissue disease is an auto-immune condition which features signs and symptoms of a combination of other conditions - usually lupus, scleroderma and polymyositis. People with MCTD experience symptoms of each of these three diseases. In many cases, this mixed set of symptoms is eventually dominated by symptoms characteristic of one of the three illnesses, especially scleroderma or lupus.

In mixed connective tissue disease, the symptoms of the separate diseases usually don't appear all at once. Instead, they tend to occur in sequence over a number of years, which can make diagnosis more complicated.

Treatment for MCTD includes high doses of steroids and Hydroxychloroquine which is an anti-malarial. Both of these medications are used in to modify and slow down the progress of the disease.