Increasing levels of self-reactive antibodies in the bloodstream after the start of treatment are associated with the progression of systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to recent research. “We hypothesize that rising antibody [levels] during treatment may reflect ongoing immune activation, insufficient therapeutic response, or impending flare, whereas decreasing [levels] may…
The immune signaling protein interleukin-40, or IL-40, may be involved in developing systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study from the Czech Republic suggests. Elevated levels of IL-40 were found in the bloodstream of adults with SSc and correlated with worse disease activity, digestive problems, and markers of inflammation and fibrosis.
Scientists in China have identified four distinct subtypes of systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), each characterized by different clinical characteristics, a new study found. With these four subtypes identified, the team then analyzed outcomes for each subtype and found differing survival rates and factors associated with mortality, which…
Exosomes, tiny sacs containing biomolecules secreted from stem cells, thinned skin scarring in a mouse model of scleroderma, as well as skin samples from patients, a study reported. These findings support “the use of exosomes as a clinical treatment for [scleroderma] skin fibrosis,” the researchers said in the study,…
Soquelitinib, Corvus Pharmaceuticals’ immune-modulating investigational oral treatment for autoimmune diseases and certain cancers, reduced the signs and symptoms of lung disease caused by systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to new preclinical data. Designed to selectively block ITK, an enzyme predominantly found in immune T-cells, soquelitinib suppresses Th2 cells —…
Cells derived from people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) had widespread DNA mutations compared with healthy cells, which may explain the higher risk of cancer in this patient population, according to a study. Changes included mutational patterns found solely in the genomes of certain cancers, as well as changes in…
A chest CT scan taken before a lung transplant can help predict survival after the transplant in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a new U.S. study suggests. Muscle mass, bone density, and the volume of the heart and blood vessels were among the “novel image features” of the pretransplant…
Problems with the heart’s left ventricle at a subclinical — not yet symptomatic and overt — level were evident in 1 in every 4 people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) taking part in an Australian study when a potentially more sensitive measure than left ventricle ejection fraction was used. Both…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Cabaletta Bio’s cell therapy CABA-201 as a treatment for adults with hard-to-treat systemic sclerosis (SSc), or scleroderma. Orphan drug designation is intended to support the accelerated development of investigational treatments for rare diseases, defined as…
More conversations, either one on one or in groups via telephone or virtually, along with in-person household activities and conversations, were significantly associated with less loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic among people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study indicates. Conversations and activities at the…
Get regular updates to your inbox.