News

A chest CT scan taken before a lung transplant can help predict survival after the transplant in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a new U.S. study suggests. Muscle mass, bone density, and the volume of the heart and blood vessels were among the “novel image features” of the pretransplant…

The Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) has announced the star-studded lineup for its annual Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine fundraising event, slated to take place Oct. 29 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles. The event will be hosted by actor and comedian Jeff Ross, known as the “…

Activating TLR8, a viral defense mechanism involved in tissue fibrosis (scarring), primes monocytes isolated from the blood of people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) to produce excess amounts of a a molecule called IL-10 that can contribute to the abnormal growth of fibrotic tissue. The finding opens up possibilities for…

FT011, Certa Therapeutics’ oral treatment candidate for systemic sclerosis (SSc), will now be known under the generic name asengeprast. That decision was made by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is responsible for assigning International Non-Proprietary Names, or INNs, to pharmaceutical substances or active ingredients. INNs are globally…

Some types of disease-specific antibodies are more common in Black patients with scleroderma than white patients, a study shows. Differences in antibody profiles may help explain why clinical outcomes tend to differ for patients of different races, but the data suggest these variations can’t fully account for all the…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug status to Aisa Pharma’s Profervia (cilnidipine), an investigational oral calcium channel blocker also known as AISA-021, for the treatment of systemic sclerosis (SSc). In its request package for the designation, the company included data from an ongoing…

Higher circulating levels of a protein called thymic stromal lymphopoietin, or TSLP, may be linked to a greater risk of digital ulcers — sores in the fingers and toes — in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, a study revealed. These findings suggest that assessments of…

Long-term treatment with Volibris (ambrisentan), marketed as Letairis in the U.S., may help prevent mild pulmonary vascular disease from developing into pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in people with scleroderma, a study suggested. “Early treatment and close follow-up could be beneficial in this high-risk group,” wrote the researchers…

Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) eases skin, muscle and digestive symptoms in people with scleroderma (SSc), particularly when used as an add-on therapy, according to a recent review study. While no improvements were seen in respiratory function, IVIG still led to stabilization of these symptoms. The findings “suggest that IVIG…

Scleroderma patients who have cancer may be treated with radiotherapy without a notable risk of skin and pulmonary worsening, a review study suggests, but around 25% of patients saw severe acute and late toxicities, that is, side effects months after radiation therapy. As such, “individualized assessment, close collaboration between…