Micronutrient antioxidant status in patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon and systemic sclerosis.

Objective. To investigate the possibility that micronutrient antioxidant status is an important factor in determining the severity of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) and in differentiating between patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon (PRP) and those in whom Raynaud's is secondary to systemic sclerosis (SSc). Methods. Four micronutrient antioxidants (selenium, vitamin E, β-carotene and ascorbic acid) and 2 «markers » of free radical associated activity were assayed in peripheral blood from 10 patients with PRP, 9 with limited cutaneous SSc (lSSc), 9 with diffuse SSc (dSSc) and 15 healthy control subjects