Campaigner against the debilitating but little-known diseases Raynauds and scleroderma
In 1862, when the French doctor Maurice Raynaud first identified a new medical condition he described as symmetrical gangrene of the extremities, he was primarily concerned with the damage caused by lack of blood to the fingers, toes and on extremely rare occasions other parts of the human body including that which only males possess.
The phenomenon that bears his name may affect one in 10 people in the UK, some of whom also go on to develop scleroderma, a related autoimmune disease. Anne Mawdsley, who has died aged 72, was diagnosed with Raynauds in 1975, and raised awareness of these dehabilitating conditions by founding the Raynauds & Scleroderma Association in 1982.
Continue reading...