>What EXACTLY causes Raynaud's disease?
>I understand that the symptoms are caused by small {*filter*} vessels
>constricting so much that the tissue can (does sometimes) dies
>in the extremities.
>But WHY does this happen? The treatment seems to be aimed at
>relaxing the muscles of the {*filter*} vessels. But what causes the
>enervating nerves to fire too hard and too long? Is the root
>cause in the brain, in the peripheral nerves, or unknown?
>If in the brain, then symptomatic treatments aimed at the peripheral
>nerves may not be the best attack.
>I also know that emotional responses seem to increase the phenomenon.
>Why is this, unless the brain is the real "source" of the problem?
>Can some neurologist out there enlighten me? I also wonder why
>this disease is treated by rheumatologists if the problem may be
>rooted in a nervous system issue somewhere.
>I am aware that Raynaud's comes (sometimes) with tissue disorders,
>but what about the pure syndrome? And if the pure syndrome is
>by some chance a nervous system phenomenon, is the same phenomenon
>still active in scleroderma and other conditions?
>Thanks,  Roger Ison