Virginia Steen, MD
rofessor Division of Rheumatology
Department of Medicine
Georgetown University Medical Center
LL Gorman
3900 Reservoir Road, NW
Washington, DC 20057
Phone: 202 687-8233
Fax: 202 444-8579
steenv@georgetown.edu
Research Interests
Clinical Research in Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma)
Research Summary
Systemic Sclerosis is a multi-system connective tissue disease that affects 5 times more women than men. My research is focused on a large database of more the 2800 scleroderma patients followed over 20 years with a 93% accountability of those patients. My work deals with the epidemiology and natural history of this disease including risk factors, treatment and outcome of organ involvement. We have studied pregnancy, and recently my work has been on the outcome of the serious complication of pulmonary hypertension, the common cause of scleroderma deaths. We are involved in multi-center therapeutic trials and prospective studies of patients with risk factors for pulmonary hypertension and specific auto-antibodies that are present in this disease.
Representative Publications
- Steen V, Medsger TA Jr., Predictors of isolated pulmonary hypertension in patients with systemic sclerosis and limited cutaneous involvement. Arthritis Rheum 2003 Feb;48(2):516-22
- Steen V. Predictors of end stage lung disease in systemic sclerosis. Ann Rheum Dis 2003 Feb;62(2):97-9
- Steen VD, Medsger TA Jr. Improvement in skin thickening in systemic sclerosis associated with improved survival. Arthritis Rheum 2001 Dec;44(12):2828-35
- Steen VD: Pregnancy in women with Systemic Sclerosis. Obstetrics and Gyne-cology, 94(1):15-20, 1999
- Steen VD, Conte C, Day N, Medsger TA Jr: Fertility and pregnancy outcome in women with systemic sclerosis. Arthritis Rheum, 42(4):763-8, 1999