Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

Patricia holds her PhD in cell biology from the University Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, and has served as an author on several research projects and fellowships, as well as major grant applications for European agencies. She also served as a PhD student research assistant in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Columbia University, New York, for which she was awarded a Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) fellowship.

Articles by Patricia Inácio

Frequency of muscle disease in SSc shows need for biomarkers: Study

Muscle disease is common in people with scleroderma and is associated with inflammation and specific end-organ involvement, according to an Australian study. The findings underscore the “clinical, functional, and prognostic importance of simple biomarkers ” for identifying SSc-related muscle disease, the study’s researchers wrote in “Proximal weakness…

FDA clears Phase 1/2 trial of CAR T-cell therapy for dcSSC

Kyverna Therapeutics is launching a Phase 1/2 trial to evaluate its investigational cell therapy KYV-101 in adults with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc). The move follows the therapy’s recent clearance of an investigational new drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The trial, called…

Cognitive deficits in SSc patients partially linked to depression: Study

People with scleroderma perform worse in verbal fluency tasks than those with mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease, a new study reports. Researchers also found that scleroderma patients experience problems with memory, particularly prospective memory and working memory, which correlate with depressive symptoms. Prospective memory refers to remembering…

High CCL24 levels in SSc associated with more severe disease

Blood levels of CCL24 are elevated in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients compared to healthy people, according to a recent scientific presentation. Consistent with previous studies, higher CCL24 levels correlated with SSc severity, a threefold greater risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD) progression, and shorter five-year survival rates. “These…