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People with scleroderma who report more severe disease symptoms tend to be younger and nonwhite, a new study reports. The study, “Patterns of patient-reported symptoms and association with sociodemographic and systemic sclerosis disease characteristics: a scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) Cohort cross-sectional study,” was published in …

Elevated levels of certain blood proteins are associated with poorer long function and skin involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, according to a recent study. In an analysis of data from the focuSSced Phase 3 trial that supported the approval of Actemra (tocilizumab) in the U.S., researchers also…

Sanofi will be the first company to join CONQUEST, a new platform trial launched by the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF), with a treatment candidate for interstitial lung disease associated with scleroderma. A platform trial is a type of randomized clinical trial that uses a master protocol to…

People with scleroderma perform worse in verbal fluency tasks than those with mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease, a new study reports. Researchers also found that scleroderma patients experience problems with memory, particularly prospective memory and working memory, which correlate with depressive symptoms. Prospective memory refers to remembering…

People with scleroderma tend to have lower levels of an anti-inflammatory signaling molecule called interleukin-35 (IL-35), a study reports. Patients with lower IL-35 levels tend to have more skin scarring, according to “Impaired Regulation by IL-35 in Systemic Sclerosis,” which was published in the International…

Skin symptoms not due to fibrosis or scarring among people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) sine scleroderma can associate with damage to internal organs, particularly the heart, according to a large data study. Among these symptoms, skin telangiectasias — marked by small blood vessels that widen near the skin’s…

Seven genes were identified as potential drivers of systemic sclerosis (SSc) in a bioinformatics study, and may offer opportunities for use as diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets. Bioinformatics is the science of collecting and analyzing complex biological data using computers. The study, “Hub genes, diagnostic model, and predicted…

A type of cell death called ferroptosis and the genes related to it may play a role in systemic sclerosis (SSc), meaning they could be used as potential targets to treat the disease, a bioinformatics study suggests. The study, “Comprehensive analysis of ferroptosis-related hub gene signatures as a…

A protein called GRB2 is found in higher levels in cells lining the skin’s blood vessels of people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) than in those of healthy individuals, meaning that GRB2 could be a potential target to treat the disease, a study suggests. Researchers observed that salvianolic acid B,…

People with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have a wide range of support and information needs, regardless of their disease duration, a survey found. Patients with less time since diagnosis had greater needs overall and in areas of learning how to manage their condition and how to cope psychologically and socially.