People with systemic sclerosis (SSc) who have more severe digestive problems tend to have less diversity in the makeup of bacteria living in their gut, a new study reports. Certain bacterial species, including Lactobacillus — present in commercially available probiotics — are more abundant in SSc patients with more…
Epigenetic changes in immune cells from African American women with systemic sclerosis (SSc) may differ from those in patients in of European ancestry, a study reported. The finding “underscores the importance of research in patients with diverse clinical and sociodemographic characteristics, and of integrating genetic and social factors, to…
More than 30% of people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) are dissatisfied with their lives, and higher levels of dissatisfaction are reported by racial minority groups, a U.S.-based study has found. The spiritual well-being of patients was the strongest contributor to life satisfaction scores. These scores were found to be significantly…
aTyr Pharma plans to test efzofitimod, its lead candidate for treating interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc), in a Phase 2 clinical study this year in the U.S. The plans come after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared an investigational new drug…
Oxygenated hemoglobin may be a new prognosis biomarker for systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients screened for pulmonary hypertension (PH), a study in Germany shows. Low levels of oxygenated hemoglobin (OxyHem), the protein that carries oxygen to body tissues, were significantly associated with worse survival among SSc patients. Also, the…
The levels of three blood proteins — endostatin, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) beta subunit — may help predict the risk of progression from early to definite systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to a new study. “In particular, endostatin was the protein most strongly associated with…
Talaris Therapeutics plans to continue to recruit people with rapidly progressing diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc) at risk for organ failure into FREEDOM-3, a Phase 2 clinical study of its investigational cell therapy FCR001. That’s in spite of the company’s decision to put a stop to its…
COVID-19 prompted blood vessel damage and a reduced blood flow to the limbs — a condition known as ischemia — in a girl with scleroderma (SSc), a case report described. The girl was ultimately discharged from the hospital after four weeks of inpatient treatment with blood vessel wideners known…
A new study shows that UVA1 phototherapy — a treatment strategy that uses specific wavelengths of ultraviolet light — may work to reduce scarring in scleroderma by activating the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). This finding implies that activating the AhR protein may offer therapeutic benefits in the chronic autoimmune…
FT011, a treatment candidate from Certa Therapeutics, was safe and led to clinically meaningful improvements for more than 60% of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients in a Phase 2 trial. After 12 weeks of treatment, patients given the investigational therapy showed gains in lung function and in physician-…
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