News

Nomogram may be used to predict worse lung scarring in SSc-ILD

A prediction tool known as nomogram may be used to calculate the chance of a person with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) developing progressive pulmonary fibrosis, or worsening lung scarring, a new study suggests. The nomogram essentially is a pictorial representation of a complex mathematical…

Anti-inflammatory medicine eases fibrosis in cell, animal disease models

Treatment with iguratimod, an anti-inflammatory medication, reduced fibrosis (scarring) in cell and mouse models of scleroderma, a study from China reports. An approved therapy in that country, “iguratimod is a promising disease-modifying drug with an anti-fibrotic effect,” the researchers wrote. “It is reasonable to further investigate the efficacy of…

Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation can safely ease SSc pain

A noninvasive form of vagus nerve stimulation therapy may help safely reduce pain in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a small Italian study has found. The technique, called transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), which involves electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve through the skin on the outer ear…

2 microRNAs together may be useful disease biomarkers: Study

The levels of two microRNAs are found altered in the bloodstream of adults with systemic sclerosis (SSc) compared with healthy people, according to a new study that suggests using these molecules as biomarkers of the disease. Elevated levels of one of them, called miR-21, is associated with scar formation,…