News

Despite differing reports within the scientific community, a new study confirms that serum levels of the TGF-β1 cytokine are significantly higher in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). Cytokines are small proteins secreted by certain cells of the immune system that impact other cells. Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) is a…

If my body were featured in a circus sideshow attraction (that’s every woman’s fantasy, right?), the announcer might exclaim, “Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, come see the spotted lady with the world’s skinniest limbs and largest belly!” I am covered with red and purple splotches…

The European Commission (EC) has designated Corbus Pharmaceuticals’ product Resunab (JBT-101) an Orphan Drug for the potential treatment of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Orphan Drug status is attributed to therapeutic drugs intended to prevent and treat rare life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions that affect no more than five in 10,000 people, and…

Levels of the cytokine CXCl4 in the bloodstream drop sharply in response to immunosuppressive therapy, and are associated with improved lung function in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), a study shows. The research, “Changes in plasma CXCL4 levels are associated with improvements in lung function…

Cytori Therapeutics will expand the development of its ECCS-50 scleroderma treatment to include secondary Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP), under the brand Habeo Cell Therapy. “Habeo … means ‘to hold’ in Latin,” John Harris, vice president and general manager of Cytori Cell Therapy, said in a press release. “The name…

Frequent cough, which commonly occurs in lung disease related to scleroderma correlates both with the presence and severity of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD – a chronic digestive disease where stomach acid flows back into the esophagus), and interstitial lung disease (ILD – a condition characterized by the progressive scarring of the lung tissue between the air sacs), suggests a study published in the medical journal Chest.

Many scleroderma patients die early in the course of the disease, and studies that measure mortality without taking that into consideration tend to underestimate death rates in the disease, according to a new report. Researchers compared a group of patients in the early stages of scleroderma to a group with participants at…

Protagen has launched NavigAID SSc, a new disease stratification assay that, by measuring serum biomarkers, can define specific systemic sclerosis (SSc) patient subgroups, thereby facilitating differential diagnosis and supporting the development of personalized therapeutics in SSc. SSc is an autoimmune disorder in which the immune system attacks the body. The condition…

At its 12th Annual Cool Comedy – Hot Cuisine gala in New York, the Scleroderma Research Foundation (SRF) raised almost $800,000 for scleroderma research. Cool Comedy – Hot Cuisine is the SRF’s signature fundraiser. It’s a night of gourmet cuisine and entertainment, featuring celebrity chefs and appearances from some of the biggest…

Current methods of dividing scleroderma patients into groups, based on characteristics of their disease in order to predict its likely progression, gives highly variable results, researchers reported, noting that no single method is able to correctly predict outcomes across groups. The study, “Subsets in systemic sclerosis: one size does not…