News

A clinical trial will study investigational therapies in people at the earliest stages of systemic sclerosis (SSc), before irreversible organ damage has occurred. Contract research organization Indero and the World Scleroderma Foundation (WSF) are partnering on the trial, called WSF SHIELD. It will test multiple investigational therapies in…

Off-label treatment with JAK inhibitors appeared to keep lung function stable and reduce skin thickening, joint pain, and swelling in a small real-world study of systemic sclerosis (SSc). They also caused some side effects and their use needs further confirmation in larger controlled studies, researchers wrote. The study, “…

People with scleroderma who are triple autoantibody-negative — meaning they don’t have three common disease-associated antibodies — are more likely to experience muscle damage and lung disease than others with the rare condition, a new study shows. Conversely, data indicate that patients negative for the three antibodies are less…

A new nanoparticle-based delivery of kaempferol, a compound found in plants, vegetables, and herbs, reduced skin thickening, inflammation, and levels of molecules that induce fibrosis (scarring) in a mouse model of systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to a study. Designed for delivery through the skin, the KLE treatment strategy combines…

A specialized MRI technique may help detect early lung abnormalities in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), even when standard tests show only mild lung disease, a new U.S. study suggests. Using Xenon MRI, or Xe-MRI, which tracks how gases move through the lungs, researchers found that women with SSc showed…

June is Scleroderma Awareness Month, culminating on the 29th with World Scleroderma Day, and is a time, advocates say, to educate others about the autoimmune disease and “find optimism in the latest research that promises better tomorrows.” That’s the message from the National Scleroderma Foundation as the nonprofit announces…

The loss of capillaries in the hands may directly contribute to local bone loss in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study revealed for the first time. Data showed that SSc patients with fewer capillaries at the base of the fingernails had lower bone density in the hands. Such…

BLR-200, a new therapy for scleroderma that’s being developed by a biotech startup in Chicago, may prevent activation of a group of cells involved in the disease’s characteristic scarring — possibly preventing patches of hardened skin from forming. That’s according to new research conducted by the startup,…

Researchers have identified a molecular pathway in specific skin cells called keratinocytes that may be involved in inflammation and scarring in scleroderma affecting the skin. According to data from a mouse model of the disease, loss of the protein Med1 in keratinocytes leads to more severe disease, likely by…

Some genetic factors linked to systemic sclerosis (SSc), also called scleroderma, may influence disease susceptibility differently in women and men, according to a new study. Researchers say these findings may help explain why the disease is much more common in women, but often more severe…