Sparing effect of hemiplegia on scleroderma.

The paretic limb is spared in patients who develop rheumatic diseases after a hemiplegic stroke. This has been described previously in rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and osteoarthritis. A similar presentation in a case of scleroderma is described in this report. Scleroderma skin changes are absent in the completely paretic limb and were markedly reduced in the weak left leg. Inflammation may be modified either by neuropeptides or by an anatomical neurological lesion and this may explain the phenomenon.