Treatment

There's no cure for mixed connective tissue disease. Medication can help manage the signs and symptoms.

The type of medication prescribed depends on the severity of your disease and your symptoms. Medications can include:

• Corticosteroids. Drugs, such as prednisone (Deltasone, Rayos), can help prevent your immune system from attacking healthy cells and suppress inflammation. Side effects of corticosteroids can include mood swings, weight gain, high blood sugar, increased blood pressure, weakened bones and cataracts.
• Antimalarial drugs. Hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil) can treat mild mixed connective tissue disease and might prevent flare-ups.
• Calcium channel blockers. This category of medications, including nifedipine (Adalat CC, Procardia) and amlodipine (Norvasc), that help relax the muscles in the walls of your blood vessels might be used to treat Raynaud's phenomenon.
• Other immunosuppressants. Your doctor might prescribe other medications based on your signs and symptoms. For example, if they're similar to those of lupus, your doctor might recommend medications typically prescribed for people with lupus.
• Pulmonary hypertension medications. Bosentan (Tracleer) or sildenafil (Revatio, Viagra) might be prescribed.