A woman recently engaged in a 48 – hour hunger strike to raise awareness and funds to help people suffering from scleroderma. Erika Pompa, a San Antonio, Texas resident and mother of two, decided to stay for two days on the sidewalk of a local restaurant, starving herself to support…
Although women have a greater risk for systemic sclerosis (SSc), they may actually experience a lesser degree of symptoms. An international study based in Cochin Hospital in Paris extracted data for 9,182 patients with SSc from the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) scleroderma trials and research study cohort and…
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application to RayVa, a product candidate being developed by Apricus Biosciences for the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon, including the treatment of the condition secondary to Scleroderma. The Notice of Allowance means that the USPTO is now…
Scleroderma patients from Canada are seeking access to an experimental U.S. stem cell therapy to help fight the disease. A study pioneered by Dr. Richard Burt at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago features injecting stem cells intravenously, in an approach called Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation (HSCT). HSCT therapy begins…
Most of the time, systemic sclerosis is associated with adulthood. However, juvenile systemic sclerosis (jSSc) is just as severe, despite a lack of published data concerning the condition. Fortunately, the five-year survival rate is high (95%), but according to “Systemic Scleroderma in Childhood: A Case…
Mike Berry had a life like any other 42-year-old man — married to wife Christine and a newborn son, Troy — when he was diagnosed with systemic scleroderma fourteen months ago. Berry, who was born in Kingston, Canada, started experiencing shortness of breath, and the physicians discovered that he suffered…
A study entitled “FibronectinEDA Promotes Chronic Cutaneous Fibrosis Through Toll-Like Receptor Signaling” recently published in Science Translational Medicine reports the discovery of the role of a new protein, fibronectin extra domain A, in scleroderma. The discovery may explain what causes the onset of the disease…
A new study entitled “Increased frequency of class I and II anti-human leukocyte antigen antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus and scleroderma and associated factors: a comparative study” published in October issue of the International Journal of Rheumatic Diseases reports increased levels of anti-HLA antibodies in the…
Systemic sclerosis, often characterized by thickened skin and connective tissue, may be a result of increased signaling pathways. According to a study from University College London Medical School and the Musculoskeletal Biology University of Liverpool, published online ahead of print in Arthritis & Rheumatism, an increase in mTOR/AKT signaling…
In 90% of all scleroderma patients, gastrointestinal (GI) tract problems lead to uncomfortable and dangerous complications. Malnutrition, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are among the symptoms that plague GI tract-involved scleroderma patients. Understanding how these problems develop could lead to large gains in quality of life of affected patients and…
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