News

At least 800 people representing some 45 countries are soon expected to gather in Austria’s capital city, Vienna, for ECRD 2018, the 9th European Conference on Rare Diseases and Orphan Products. The May 10-12 meeting is sponsored by Eurordis, the Paris-based group that defines itself as a “patient-driven alliance”…

Rituximab (brand name Rituxan, among others) may be effective in treating patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis, according to a French retrospective study and literature review. Although there are several small-scale reports supporting rituximab as a treatment for systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, no large-scale studies have been conducted. Researchers found it…

The presence of a specific scleroderma subtype and autoantibodies may be reliable factors to identify a distinct cancer risk in patients with scleroderma, according to a large prospective study. The study, “Autoantibodies and scleroderma phenotype define subgroups at high-risk and low-risk for cancer,” was published in…

Treatment with iloprost using a portable pump is efficient, safe, and more convenient for the treatment of Raynaud’s phenomenon and digital ulcers in patients with scleroderma, a case report from Portugal shows. The pump helps patients…

The occurrence of blood clots in the veins of scleroderma patients is rare and does not change patients’ survival rates, a new Canadian study shows. Still, researchers see a need for improved understanding of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in these patients. The study, “Venous Thromboembolism in Systemic Sclerosis: Prevalence,…

Having interstitial lung disease (ILD) is associated with a greater risk of lung cancer in scleroderma patients, according to Canadian researchers. Their findings also demonstrate that male sex and smoking are predictors for increased risk. Their study, “Interstitial lung disease is associated with an increased risk of lung…

A little-known government entity within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is helping to lead U.S. efforts to speed up the development of therapies for some 7,000 rare diseases. The Office of Rare Diseases Research (ORDR), headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, was established in 1993 within the NIH Office of the…

Therapeutic plasma exchange, which aims to treat systemic sclerosis (SSc) by clearing the blood of antibodies, cytokines and other factors that might promote disease progression, shows potential as a therapy, a review study reported. But a well-designed clinical trial, incorporating equipment and techniques that have come into use since therapeutic…

Increased levels of two proteins produced during acute inflammation can help predict pulmonary involvement in patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis, a study shows. Patients with diffuse systemic sclerosis who also have developed lung disease were found to have significantly higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A…

Changes in gene expression occur early in scleroderma patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension or interstitial lung disease, which means that a collection of biomarkers can be used to detect these lung conditions early, a study reports. The research dealt with what scientists call a biomarker panel for the conditions. The…