News

An analysis of focus group discussions between patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), or scleroderma, found that participants coped with their disease in three general ways: by concentrating on solutions to a problem and seeking professional help, managing their emotions, and looking for benefits and adjusting goals to the realities of their…

High levels of a cytokine called CCL2 circulating in the blood can predict how quickly and severely lung disease will progress in people in the early stages of systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study suggests. The research “CCL2 in the Circulation Predicts Long-Term Progression of Interstitial Lung Disease in…

Prucalopride, marketed under the name Resolor in Europe and Resotran in Canada, can safely manage mild to severe gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc), including bowel movement and transit, reflux disease, and bloating, finds a study published in the journal Arthritis Research and Therapy. Doctors have proposed using medicines to…

Switching to Adempas (riociguat) is a potential therapeutic option for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc) who failed to improve when treated with phosphodiesterase type-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors such as Adcirca (tadalafil), a case series study reported.

The prevalence of autoantibodies, particularly Anti-Topo I, anti-CENP, and anti-RNA pol III, in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) can aid in predicting disease outcome, Greek researchers have found. Their study, “Disease-related autoantibody profile in patients with systemic sclerosis,” appeared in the journal Autoimmunity. SSc is characterized…

A recent study showed that the classification of patients with pre-scleroderma into “very early systemic sclerosis” (SSc or scleroderma) and “early SSc” groups — based on the existence of subclinical organ involvement — can help improve disease monitoring and care, and better predict patients’ outcomes. The study also showed that patients in the…

Corbus Pharmaceuticals says a Phase 3 clinical trial of anabasum for diffuse cutaneous scleroderma will start in the fourth quarter of 2017, putting the treatment a step closer toward regulatory approval after a Phase 2 trial that improved patients’ disease. According to the company’s second-quarter financial report,…

Genentech has completed patient enrollment in a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating Actemra (tocilizumab) as a treatment for scleroderma patients. It has now enrolled 211 patients worldwide for a trial that will be conducted at 106 sites. The focuSSced study (NCT02453256) will be assessing the effectiveness and…

Researchers found that scleroderma renal crisis (SRC), a severe complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc), is associated with high mortality in Thai patients. The study also shows that the major risk factors for SRC include heart involvement, ongoing treatment with high dosages of the steroid medication prednisolone, low blood albumin levels, and digital gangrene. The…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Imbruvica (ibrutinib) to treat adult patients with chronic graft-versus-host-disease (cGVHD) who failed prior therapy, such as corticosteroids. Stem cell transplants have been a standard of care for patients with blood disorders like leukemia and myeloma. Pre-clinical and early clinical studies suggest…