Fibromyalgia: Moderate Drinking May Ease Symptoms. Patients with fibromyalgia (FM) who drink low or moderate amounts of alcohol have less severe symptoms than nondrinkers, and Mayo Clinic researchers suspect that alcohol's ability to raise γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels might be the reason. Medscape. (Also see: Fibromyalgia Treatments)

Lifting Weights Can Control Blood Sugar. The latest study finds an intriguing connection between weight-bearing exercises and a lower risk of diabetes. Time Healthland. (Also see: Scleroderma and Diabetes)

(Includes Photos) Keloids in scleroderma-keloidal scleroderma: A unique entity.Scleroderma with multiple keloids is a rare finding. The morphology of these lesions often does not correlate with the histologic findings. Indian J Dermatol 2013;58:153-4.(Also see:Keloidal Scleroderma)

What does your birthday have to do with immune disorders?The month in which babies are born can affect how their immune systems develop, and even how vulnerable they are to autoimmune diseases. Time Healthland. 04/11/13. (Also see: Multiple Sclerosis and Vitamin D Deficiency)

Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) in Canada's North American Native (NAN) Population: Assessment of Clinical and Serological Manifestations.NAN patients with SSc have a distinct clinical phenotype. Our study provides a strong rationale to pursue further research into genetic and environmental determinants of SSc.Journal of Rheumatology, 2013 May 15. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Genetics)

Current diagnostic tools for Sjögren's syndrome.We describe the objective tests that are useful in practice for a positive diagnosis and assessment of Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS).International Journal of Clinical Rheumatology, Volume 8, Number 2, April 2013. (Also see: Sjogrens Syndrome)

Diagnosis and treatment of connective tissue disease (CTD)-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD).A careful and systematic approach to diagnosis in patients with ILD may reveal an unrecognized CTD or evidence of autoimmunity in those previously believed to have idiopathic ILD.Pub Med Chest, 2013 Mar; 143(3):814-24. (Also see: Pulmonary Fibrosis Diagnosis )

False-positive mammograms take mental toll, study finds.Long after learning that a troubling reading on a screening mammogram was just a false alarm, women continued suffering negative psychological effects.Los Angeles Times 03/18/2013.

Novel aspects of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in 2012.Low vitamin D levels in patients with SS could be associated with severe complications such as lymphoma and peripheral neuropathy. Pub Med BMC Med. 2013 Apr 4;11:93. (Also see: Sjögren's Syndrome)

Distinctive histopathologic findings in linear morphea (en coup de sabre) alopecia.Similar follicular remnants have been reported in chemotherapy-induced permanent alopecia but not in alopecia secondary to morphea or other cicatricial alopecias.Journal of Cutaneous Pathology, 2013 Mar 18. (Also see: Linear Scleroderma/En Coup De Sabre and Alopecia)

Associations between selected immune-mediated diseases and tuberculosis: record-linkage studies.These two databases show that patients with some immune-mediated diseases have an increased risk of TB, although we cannot explicitly state the direction of risk or exclude confounding.BMC Medicine 2013, 11:97. (Also see: Tuberculosis and Scleroderma)

Social isolation increases risk of early death, study finds.People who are socially isolated are more likely to die prematurely, regardless of their underlying health issues. Los Angeles Times, 03/26/2013.