Good clinical response to methotrexate treatment in a patient with fibroblastic rheumatism.

Fibroblastic rheumatism (FR) is a rare disease first described by Chaouat (in Rev Rhum Mal Osteoartic 47:345-351, 1980) and is characterized by a combination of rheumatologic and dermatological manifestations. Rheumatologic features are symmetrical polyarthralgias with joint stiffness, associated with cutaneous nodules and sclerodactyly. Histology shows an increased number of fibroblasts and a marked dermal fibrosis. A large number of treatments have been tried, but all of them have shown an unpredictable effect on FR. We report a Brazilian case of FR showing a good clinical response to methotrexate treatment. This drug may be considered an effective treatment in FR.