Margarida Maia, PhD, science writer —

Fewer than one in five scleroderma patients seek help from mental health services, an international study found. The patients most often turned to general practitioners as their providers of mental health care, followed by psychologists and psychiatrists. The study, “Mental health care use and associated factors in systemic…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Thermo Fisher Scientific to market its blood tests for diagnosing scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), two autoimmune diseases. “Autoimmune diseases can be a challenge to diagnose. Reliable and accurate laboratory tests that provide clinical clarity are essential…

The immunosuppressant Rituximab may ease arthritis — an inflammation of the joints — in patients with long-standing systemic sclerosis (SSc), a small Turkish study found. Moreover, in some patients, skin and lung symptoms either remained stable or eased, the researchers also observed. “The factors and markers affecting the treatment…

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (AHSCT) eases skin scarring in people with diffuse systemic sclerosis (SSc) by tweaking the levels of molecules involved in tissue remodeling and inflammation, a study from Brazil reported. The study, “Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation promotes connective tissue remodeling in systemic sclerosis patients,” was…

People with systemic scleroderma (SSc) who have certain autoantibodies are at increased risk of developing pulmonary hypertension, or high pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs, according to a study in the U.S. Researchers also observed that patients who tested positive for these autoantibodies, called anti-Th/To antibodies,…

A protein that triggers a form of cell death driven by inflammation is present at high levels in the skin of patients with scleroderma, and this suggests it may play a role in the development of the disease, according to a new study. Researchers also observed that the skin…

Country music artist Ashley Barron has been named celebrity ambassador of the National Scleroderma Foundation, a role she will take up to increase understanding and awareness of scleroderma as she takes her music on tour this spring and summer throughout the United States. “I am so honored…

UVA1 phototherapy, a form of treatment that uses light for skin disorders, helps ease skin lesions in people with localized scleroderma by regulating certain genes responsible for inflammation and scarring, a study has found. The study, “Clinical and laboratory characterization of patients with localized scleroderma and response to…

A differential blood cell count — a routine test that tells how many cells of each type there are in the blood — may be able to foretell the course of disease in patients with systemic scleroderma (SSc), according to a U.S. study. Higher numbers in both neutrophil counts…

When gene expression — the process in which a gene gets turned ‘on’ in a cell to make proteins — is dysregulated or does not function the way it should normally, the affected skin of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) tends to be abnormally thicker, a study has found.