News

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), a disease that causes inflammation and scarring of the liver bile ducts, have milder symptoms that rarely lead to major complications, compared to patients with SSc alone. A study with that finding also determined SSc-only patients had a higher incidence…

Elevated blood levels of the cold-inducible RNA-binding protein (CIRP) are linked with more severe interstitial lung disease (ILD) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients and may be a marker of disease activity, a study from Japan reports. “Our results suggest that serum [blood] CIRP levels may serve as a useful…

Having a higher level of education or being married may mean fewer symptoms of depression for people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to a systematic review of multiple studies. Researchers also observed that lung involvement, breathing problems, and tender joints were linked to more symptoms of depression, but…

People with systemic sclerosis (SSc) who test positive for Scl-70 self-reactive antibodies are at a higher risk of major organ involvement, particularly the lungs, than those with other types of autoantibodies, a study suggested. Digestive tract involvement was associated with the presence of anti-nuclear (ANA) autoantibodies. SSc patients with…

A woman developed scleroderma, also known as systemic sclerosis (SSc), after she contracted COVID-19, according to a case report that highlights the challenges of treating complex autoimmune conditions. Treatment with a corticosteroid led to scleroderma renal crisis, “highlighting the risk of steroid use in all patients with systemic sclerosis,”…

About half of the people with suspected very early systemic sclerosis (SSc) may go on to develop definite disease, and those who test positive for anti-topoisomerase antibodies (ATAs) are more likely experience faster disease progression. That’s according to a study from the Netherlands where the proportion of people who…

An index comprising three blood biomarkers was strongly associated with a diagnosis of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, a study in Australia shows. The index was also associated with disease severity, independent of lung function. “Our data supports further investigation of composite biomarker indices as…

Analyzing the color of red blood cells could help predict survival outcomes among people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study shows. The study, “Hypochromic red cells as a prognostic indicator of survival among patients with systemic sclerosis screened for pulmonary hypertension,” was published in Arthritis…

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), where the lungs become scarred, are more than three times more likely to be hospitalized due to respiratory failure, according to real-world data collected in the U.S. Other strong risk factors for respiratory failure among hospitalized SSc patients included pneumonia…

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…