Ketanserin in the treatment of progressive systemic sclerosis.

Now progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) is considered a disease of small vessels with which many immunologic alterations are associated. The presence in the blood of large amounts of serotonin can be considered a very important aggravating factor able to cause the sclerodermic alterations. The authors have treated 10 PSS patients with ketanserin, a selective antagonist of the S2 serotonin receptors, which are found in small vessels and platelets. Their results show that ketanserin represents an efficacious and very well tolerated therapy for treatment of the initial vascular symptoms of PSS.