News

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…

Certa Therapeutics’ FT011, an investigational oral therapy for systemic sclerosis (SSc), has been granted fast track designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It comes following Phase 2 clinical trial data that showed that FT011 was safe and well tolerated, and led to clinically meaningful improvements…

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…

AM1476, AnaMar’s investigational anti-fibrotic medication, has been granted orphan drug status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for treating scleroderma. To get this designation, a medication must be intended to treat a life-threatening rare…

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, may accelerate the development and progression of systemic sclerosis (SSc) through fibrosis (scarring), inflammation, autoantibody production, and blood vessel damage. That’s according to a study in South Korea that shows the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that’s required for the…

Living with scleroderma requires adapting to changes in a woman’s sense of self, but practicing gratitude and accepting change can help patients reclaim themselves, a study aiming for a “grounded theory” of identify management reports. Its scientists said these findings may lay the groundwork for future studies aiming to…

A non-invasive technique called flow-mediated dilation (FMD) could be useful for monitoring blood vessel alterations in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and predicting the likelihood of certain blood flow (vascular) complications, a study has found. The test findings show distinct differences between SSc patients and healthy people, and were…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast track designation to the cell therapy CABA-201 for organ dysfunction in people with scleroderma. The agency also granted CABA-201 fast track status to reduce disease activity in people with dermatomyositis, another rare disorder that’s marked by muscle weakness and…

People with more circulating cholesterol — a type of lipid (fat) that plays an important role in the body — may be at a lower risk of developing systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to a study of nearly 10 million people living in South Korea. Based on these findings, researchers…

Elevated levels of the gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) enzyme — involved in oxidative stress, a result of insufficient antioxidant defenses against toxic free radicals — were associated with a higher risk of developing scleroderma, a large South Korean study reports. “These findings could lead to a closer monitoring for high…