A noninvasive form of vagus nerve stimulation therapy may help safely reduce pain in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a small Italian study has found. The technique, called transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS), which involves electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve through the skin on the outer ear…
The levels of two microRNAs are found altered in the bloodstream of adults with systemic sclerosis (SSc) compared with healthy people, according to a new study that suggests using these molecules as biomarkers of the disease. Elevated levels of one of them, called miR-21, is associated with scar formation,…
More than half of the people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) in a study were malnourished under recent French guidelines, one-quarter had severe malnutrition, and being malnourished associated with cardiac involvement, a study in that country reported. Gastrointestinal (GI) tract involvement, not surprisingly, also was evident in a majority of…
The European Patent Office has decided to grant MediciNova a patent covering the use of an investigational small molecule called MN-001 (tipelukast) for the treatment of scleroderma. Once issued, the patent is expected to expire no earlier than June 2035. This means that the company will hold exclusive rights…
People with scleroderma who report more severe disease symptoms tend to be younger and nonwhite, a new study reports. The study, “Patterns of patient-reported symptoms and association with sociodemographic and systemic sclerosis disease characteristics: a scleroderma Patient-centered Intervention Network (SPIN) Cohort cross-sectional study,” was published in …
Elevated levels of certain blood proteins are associated with poorer long function and skin involvement in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients, according to a recent study. In an analysis of data from the focuSSced Phase 3 trial that supported the approval of Actemra (tocilizumab) in the U.S., researchers also…
Sanofi will be the first company to join CONQUEST, a new platform trial launched by the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF), with a treatment candidate for interstitial lung disease associated with scleroderma. A platform trial is a type of randomized clinical trial that uses a master protocol to…
People with scleroderma perform worse in verbal fluency tasks than those with mild neurocognitive disorder due to Alzheimer’s disease, a new study reports. Researchers also found that scleroderma patients experience problems with memory, particularly prospective memory and working memory, which correlate with depressive symptoms. Prospective memory refers to remembering…
People with scleroderma tend to have lower levels of an anti-inflammatory signaling molecule called interleukin-35 (IL-35), a study reports. Patients with lower IL-35 levels tend to have more skin scarring, according to “Impaired Regulation by IL-35 in Systemic Sclerosis,” which was published in the International…
Skin symptoms not due to fibrosis or scarring among people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) sine scleroderma can associate with damage to internal organs, particularly the heart, according to a large data study. Among these symptoms, skin telangiectasias — marked by small blood vessels that widen near the skin’s…
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