Systemic scleroderma, or systemic sclerosis, is an autoimmune rheumatic disease characterised by excessive production and accumulation of collagen, called fibrosis, in the skin and internal organs and by injuries to small arteries. There are two major subgroups of systemic sclerosis based on the extent of skin involvement: limited and diffuse. The limited form affects areas below, but not above, the elbows and knees with or without involvement of the face. The diffuse form also affects the skin above the elbows and knees and can also spread to the torso. Visceral organs, including the kidneys, heart, lungs, and gastrointestinal tract can also be affected by the fibrotic process. Prognosis is determined by the form of the disease and the extent of visceral involvement. Patients with limited systemic sclerosis have a better prognosis than those with the diffuse form. Death is most often caused by lung, heart, and kidney involvement. The risk of cancer is increased slightly.
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, author, and activist, best known for playing the title character in the film Superman (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey, Reeve discovered a passion for acting and theater at the age of nine. He studied at Cornell University and the Juilliard School, making his Broadway debut in 1976. After his acclaimed performances in Superman and Superman II, Reeve declined many roles in action movies, choosing instead to work in small films and plays with more complex characters. He later appeared in critically successful films such as The Bostonians (1984), Street Smart (1987), and The Remains of the Day (1993), and in the plays Fifth of July on Broadway and The Aspern Papers in London's West End.
Robert Lane Saget was an American stand-up comedian, actor, director, and television host. He portrayed Danny Tanner on the sitcom Full House (1987–1995) and its sequel Fuller House (2016–2020). Saget was the original host of America's Funniest Home Videos (1989–1997), and the voice of narrator Ted Mosby on the sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005–2014). He was also known for his adult-oriented stand-up comedy, and his 2014 album That's What I'm Talkin' About was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album.
Dana Welles Delany is an American actress. After appearing in small roles early in her career, Delany received her breakthrough role as Colleen McMurphy on the ABC television drama China Beach (1988–1991), for which she received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1989 and 1992. She received further recognition for her appearances in the films Light Sleeper (1992), Tombstone (1993), Exit to Eden (1994), The Margaret Sanger Story (1995), Fly Away Home (1996), True Women (1997), and Wide Awake (1998). Delany also provided the voice of Lois Lane in Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.
Sharon Monsky (1953–2002) founded the Scleroderma Research Foundation.
A connective tissue disease is a disease which involves damage to, or destruction of, any type of connective tissue in the body. Depending on the specific disease, the affected tissue(s) may be a single specific type, a group of several related tissues, or a wide variety of unrelated types of connective tissue. Some of the most common connective tissue diseases involve injury to collagen and elastin as a result of inflammation. Many connective tissue diseases are strongly connected to autoimmune disease processes.
Regina Lee Hall is an American actress. She rose to prominence for her role as Brenda Meeks in the comedy horror Scary Movie film series (2000–2006). She has since appeared in the television series Ally McBeal (2001–2002), Law & Order: LA (2010–2011), Grandfathered (2016), and Black Monday (2019–2021), and in the films The Best Man (1999), its 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday, About Last Night (2014), Vacation (2015), Girls Trip (2017), The Hate U Give (2018), and Little (2019). For the comedy film Support the Girls (2018), Hall received critical acclaim, and became the first African American to win the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.
Pasadena is an American prime time soap opera that originally aired on Fox from September to November 2001.
Light Sleeper is a 1992 American crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader and starring Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, and Dana Delany. Set in New York City during a sanitation strike, the gritty neo-noir film stars Dafoe as a high-class drug dealer battling a midlife crisis before becoming embroiled in tragic events following the chance encounter with a former girlfriend. While under-performing at the box office, the film was regarded favorably by critics.
Jeff Kober is an American actor, known for his television roles as Dodger in China Beach, Jacob Hale Jr. in Sons of Anarchy, Joe in the fourth season of The Walking Dead, and Kurt Nypo in Walker: Texas Ranger. He is also known his movie roles such as Roy Gaddis in Out of Bounds (1986), Patrick Channing in The First Power (1990), Marcus in One Tough Bastard (1995), and as Ponoma Joe in A Man Apart (2003). In February 2020, Kober joined the cast of ABC's General Hospital as Cyrus Renault. He exited the role in June 2021, but has made occasional guest appearances from August to December of the same year, winning a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance in the role in 2022.
Mixed connective tissue disease, commonly abbreviated as MCTD, is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of elevated blood levels of a specific autoantibody, now called anti-U1 ribonucleoprotein (RNP) together with a mix of symptoms of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), scleroderma, and polymyositis. The idea behind the "mixed" disease is that this specific autoantibody is also present in other autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, polymyositis, scleroderma, etc. MCTD was characterized as an individual disease in 1972 by Sharp et al., and the term was introduced by Leroy in 1980.
Blowin' Up is a comedic reality show on MTV. The show starred Jamie Kennedy, an actor who follows his dream of becoming a successful rapper. The show was written by Kennedy after the success of the movie Malibu's Most Wanted, in which he starred. Along for the ride is his close friend Stu Stone, who keeps Jamie in check to stick to their rap career.
Exit to Eden is a 1994 American comedy thriller film directed by Garry Marshall and adapted to the screen by Deborah Amelon and Bob Brunner from Anne Rice's novel of the same name. The original music score was composed by Patrick Doyle.
Will Denton is an American film and television actor.
Scleroderma is a group of autoimmune diseases that may result in changes to the skin, blood vessels, muscles, and internal organs. The disease can be either localized to the skin or involve other organs, as well. Symptoms may include areas of thickened skin, stiffness, feeling tired, and poor blood flow to the fingers or toes with cold exposure. One form of the condition, known as CREST syndrome, classically results in calcium deposits, Raynaud's syndrome, esophageal problems, thickening of the skin of the fingers and toes, and areas of small, dilated blood vessels.
Vanessa Hollingshead is an American actress and stand-up comedian who has performed on many comedy programs including Comedy Central Presents, Live At Jongleurs, Just For Laughs, The Jim Breuer Show, and Funny Women of a Certain Age. She has also acted in a number of films, including a small role in the 1999 film, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.
Susan Feniger is an American chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and radio and TV personality. She is known for starring in the cooking show Too Hot Tamales on the Food Network and opening several influential restaurants in Los Angeles. She has been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the California Restaurant Association.
Baby for Sale is a 2004 television film that was premiered on the Lifetime Network on 12 July 2004. It stars Dana Delany and was directed by Peter Svatek. The filming took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The story is based on true life events
A Time to Remember is a 2003 American drama television film directed by John Putch and starring Doris Roberts and Dana Delany. It premiered on Hallmark Channel on November 23, 2003.
Adeev and Ezra Potash professionally known as The Potash Twins are American identical twin musicians and television personalities from Omaha, Nebraska. The twins have hosted several TV shows on Food Network, Bravo TV and Travel Channel. They have performed with John Legend, Diplo, Snoop Dogg, Lil Baby, Jon Batiste, Robert Glasper, Major Lazer and Wynton Marsalis.
