News

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…

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 are more likely to have worse outcomes if they also have systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study finds. This risk was assessed by a composite score that combined several clinical measures, including in-hospital mortality, invasive mechanical ventilation to help with breathing, use of medications to raise…

In Italy, the prevalence of COVID-19 was greater, with the virus resulting in a higher death rate, among people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) than in the general population, according to a study spanning the pandemic years. The researchers also observed that while most SSc patients received three or more…

An MRI-based measure called Digital Artery Volume Index, or DAVIX, may help predict the risk that people with scleroderma will develop ulcers on their fingers, a study suggests. “The potential of DAVIX to detect and predict digital ulcer disease could render it a useful stratification tool in clinical trials,”…