Alice Melão, MSc,  —

Treatment with Uptravi (selexipag) was shown to be safe and reduced the risk of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) progression in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to a follow-up analysis of GRIPHON trial data. The findings were featured in a report titled, “Selexipag for the treatment…

Prucalopride, marketed under the name Resolor in Europe and Resotran in Canada, can safely manage mild to severe gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc), including bowel movement and transit, reflux disease, and bloating, finds a study published in the journal Arthritis Research and Therapy. Doctors have proposed using medicines to…

Researchers found that scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), a severe complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc), is associated with high mortality in Thai patients. The study also shows that the major risk factors for SRC include heart involvement, ongoing treatment with high dosages of the steroid medication prednisolone, low blood albumin levels, and digital gangrene. The…

Systemic sclerosis patients with interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD) have a great deal of symptoms and comorbidities (other diseases), with a high impact on their overall biological and physical stability, or frailty. The study, “Severity and features of frailty in systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease,” was published in the journal Respiratory…

Inventiva’s lead therapy candidate IVA337 for the treatment of systemic sclerosis (SSc) was shown to prevent the progression of lung fibrosis and the remodeling of blood vessels in preclinical animal models of lung fibrosis and systemic sclerosis. These findings will be the…

Scleroderma patients without pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) were found to develop a mild but significant decline in the ability to exercise and in pulmonary vascular function during exercise, according to a four-year prospective study published in the European Respiratory Journal. Previous large-scale studies have demonstrated that PAH is a real and severe complication…

The American Medical Association is adding descriptions of Cytori Therapeutics’ cell-based therapy for scleroderma of the hands to its authoritative database of medical procedures, services and technology. Because so many players in the American healthcare system use the database as a reference, the addition of the descriptions will help Cytori spread the word…

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Galectin Therapeutics a new patent that extends coverage of its candidate therapy GR-MD-02 to treat systemic sclerosis and other diseases in which high levels of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (or iNOS) enzyme causes inflammation.

An imaging technique called nailfold videocapillaroscopy and a blood-based detection of systemic sclerosis (SSc) specific autoantibodies can provide helpful information for early diagnosis of the condition, according to two studies presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR) 2017, held June 14-17…

Scientific advances have allowed researchers to develop therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) that have been shown to benefit patients with PAH related to systemic sclerosis (SSc). However, the median survival of these patients remains short, with a life expectancy of only four years from the time…