News

The European Commission (EC) has given orphan drug designation to efzofitimod as a potential treatment of systemic sclerosis, also known as SSc or scleroderma, aTyr Pharma, the therapy’s developer, announced in a press release. The EC’s decision provides the company with certain incentives, such as fee reductions and…

A physiotherapy program improved sexual function and quality of life, while also preventing the deterioration in functional ability in women with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study in the Czech Republic reports. The eight-week program consisted of a one-hour session, twice weekly, of targeted physiotherapy according to the patients’ needs.

Bloodstream levels of a protein that plays a role in the body’s response to low oxygen may be an effective biomarker to assess abnormal changes in small blood vessels associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to a recent study. Levels of the protein, called hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), were significantly…

Plasma exchange helped reduce high blood pressure linked to scleroderma renal crisis (SRC) — a potentially life-threatening complication marked by abrupt blood pressure changes and acute kidney failure — in patients unresponsive to standard treatment, a case series study reported. Despite these successes, most patients still had impaired kidney…

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (AHSCT) helped resolve watermelon stomach in five people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), researchers in Israel report. Watermelon stomach occurs when the lining of the stomach bleeds. Having watermelon stomach, or gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE), could be a reason for an SSc patient to…

Blood levels of CCL24 are elevated in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients compared to healthy people, according to a recent scientific presentation. Consistent with previous studies, higher CCL24 levels correlated with SSc severity, a threefold greater risk of interstitial lung disease (ILD) progression, and shorter five-year survival rates. “These…

With an emphasis on sparking conversations about the complex chronic autoimmune disease, supporters are observing Scleroderma Awareness Month this June with a host of events and activities — including social media campaigns. World Scleroderma Day is on June 29. In addition to the general public, the awareness and fundraising efforts…

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…