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Older age, problems in the larynx, or voice box, and being positive for certain autoantibodies is associated with a higher risk of having dysphagia — difficulty swallowing — in scleroderma patients, according to a single-center study. Esophageal dysmotility, when foods and liquids do not easily pass down the esophagus,…

Clinicians in Tunisia highlighted the importance of screening for self-reactive antibodies, or autoantibodies, in localized scleroderma cases after a 79-year-old woman treated a hospital in the capital city of Tunis was also diagnosed with pulmonary interstitial fibrosis and pulmonary arterial hypertension. In addition, the patient had self-reactive anti-Th/To…

Baricitinib, an anti-inflammatory therapy approved to treat some forms of inflammatory arthritis, showed promising effects in a mouse model of systemic sclerosis (SSc)-associated lung disease. “This study demonstrates that baricitinib successfully attenuates bleomycin-induced injury and fibrosis of the skin and lung,” the researchers wrote in “Crosstalk between…

In people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), organic solvent exposure — common among workers in industry — is more likely to be found among men and is associated with more severe disease symptoms, according to a new study. Such symptoms primarily included gastrointestinal (GI) and kidney or renal problems. “This…

People with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have poorer quality of life and survival when they also have pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and interstitial lung disease (ILD), a study in Australia found. Having PAH was associated with a poorer prognosis than having extensive ILD. “A better understanding of people with…

Certain metabolic changes in the blood could serve as biomarkers for systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to a recent analysis. In “the largest metabolic study in SSc so far,” researchers identified metabolites — small molecules that are products of metabolism — that distinguished SSc patients from healthy adults, but were…

Elevated activity of a blood-clotting protein called Factor XIII (FXIII) in the bloodstream of adults with systemic sclerosis (SSc) is tied to the presence of Raynaud’s phenomenon, a common SSc symptom, a small study suggests. While most study participants had FXIII activity levels within the normal range, “patients with…

Caregivers of children with juvenile scleroderma cited a lack of knowledge about the rare disease within the medical community as the primary barrier to a proper diagnosis and treatment, according to a new survey study. For more than a quarter of the children, it took more than a year…

The degree of skin tightening is associated with changed levels of proteins implicated in inflammation and cell death among systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with pulmonary involvement, a study in India reports. The study established protein correlations among SSc patients with different types of lung disease, which might contribute to…

Levels of microparticles, tiny molecule-filled sacs shed from cells, were altered in the bloodstream of adults with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study reports. Elevated microparticles derived from blood-clotting platelets were associated with disease-related antibodies and longer disease duration. By contrast, lower levels of microparticles shed from endothelial cells that…