News

Elevated levels of the gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) enzyme — involved in oxidative stress, a result of insufficient antioxidant defenses against toxic free radicals — were associated with a higher risk of developing scleroderma, a large South Korean study reports. “These findings could lead to a closer monitoring for high…

Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 are more likely to have worse outcomes if they also have systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study finds. This risk was assessed by a composite score that combined several clinical measures, including in-hospital mortality, invasive mechanical ventilation to help with breathing, use of medications to raise…

In Italy, the prevalence of COVID-19 was greater, with the virus resulting in a higher death rate, among people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) than in the general population, according to a study spanning the pandemic years. The researchers also observed that while most SSc patients received three or more…

An MRI-based measure called Digital Artery Volume Index, or DAVIX, may help predict the risk that people with scleroderma will develop ulcers on their fingers, a study suggests. “The potential of DAVIX to detect and predict digital ulcer disease could render it a useful stratification tool in clinical trials,”…

Treatment with FT011 led to clinically meaningful improvements in physical disability and lung function for some scleroderma patients given the experimental therapy in a Phase 2 clinical trial. Christopher Denton, MD, a professor at University College London, shared the results at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Convergence 2023…

The Scleroderma Research Foundation’s (SRF) annual “Cool Comedy – Hot Cuisine, A Tribute to Bob Saget” event, a recent evening of levity to raise scleroderma research funds and awareness, and to honor a longtime supporter, garnered more than $1.2 million. Some 500 people attended the luminary-laden event,…

Dosing has begun in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating aTyr Pharma’s efzofitimod, a first-in-class therapy for people with interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc) — together known as SSc-ILD. Recruitment for the proof-of-concept EFZO-CONNECT study (NCT05892614), which aims to enroll up to 25…

Including intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) as part of routine care may help to ease muscle, skin, and digestive symptoms in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a Spanish study found. The experimental treatment was seen to be generally safe, with reported side effects being mostly mild or moderate. While these findings…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to FT011, an experimental oral medication that Certa Therapeutics is developing as a treatment for systemic sclerosis. The FDA gives this designation to investigational treatments for rare diseases, those affecting fewer than 200,000 people…

Kyverna Therapeutics is launching a Phase 1/2 trial to evaluate its investigational cell therapy KYV-101 in adults with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc). The move follows the therapy’s recent clearance of an investigational new drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The trial, called…