Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

One year of treatment with Tracleer (bosentan) significantly reduces the severity of patient-reported skin symptoms in people with scleroderma, a new study suggests. Yet, these benefits are diminished among those with more severe complications before treatment. The study, “A patient-centered approach to the burden…

The types of autoantibodies a person has are a better predictor of scleroderma prognosis than whether the person has other connective tissue diseases, a study reports. The study, “Clinical characteristics and survival in systemic sclerosis-mixed connective tissue disease and systemic sclerosis-overlap syndrome,” was published in the journal…

Scleroderma patients who develop digital ulcers are more likely to be younger at disease onset, male, and have the diffuse type of the disease, a study has found. Digital ulcers — sores on the fingers and toes — are estimated to affect half of people with scleroderma.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared an application from Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals that paves the way to begin a Phase 2 clinical trial testing EHP-101 in people with scleroderma. EHP-101 is an oral therapy based on cannabidiol (CBD), one of the main components of cannabis and…

About a third of people diagnosed with scleroderma in the U.S. were prescribed immunosuppressive therapies in the first year after their diagnosis, but their symptoms were found to be similar to those of other scleroderma patients — possibly indicating the low efficacy of these treatments, a study…

Treatment with Letairis (ambrisentan) failed to significantly reduce pulmonary blood pressure at rest and during exercise compared with a placebo in people with scleroderma and mild pulmonary hypertension (PH), a Phase 2 trial showed. However, the therapy improved cardiac function and blood flow in the lungs —…

The first person has been enrolled in a clinical trial evaluating the investigational therapy bermekimab in adults with scleroderma, XBiotech, the developer of bermekimab, announced. Although the cause of scleroderma is unknown, the disease is thought to be at least partly driven by abnormally high levels of an inflammatory…

A modified version of the inflammatory protein TRAIL might be able to reverse fibrosis in scleroderma and related conditions, a study suggests. The study, titled “Targeting of dermal myofibroblasts through death receptor 5 arrests fibrosis in mouse models of scleroderma,” was published in the journal Nature…

The Arthritis Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recommended — via a 10-7 vote — the approval of Ofev (nintedanib) for the treatment of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD). Ofev, marketed by Boehringer Ingelheim, is…

Older age, active digital ulcers, lung tissue scarring, muscle weakness, and increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) are predictive factors of progressive organ damage in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study has found. Taking these factors into consideration may help clinicians to identify patients at risk of SSc worsening,…