News

A new topical medicine, called SM04755, significantly decreased and even reversed fibrosis and inflammation in in vitro and in vivo mouse studies of scleroderma. These results suggest SM04755 is a potential topical medicine for scleroderma patients. The study, “Discovery of a Small Molecule Inhibitor of the Wnt Pathway (SM04755) As a Potential Topical…

Stimulating skin fat stem cells eased skin fibrosis in a scleroderma mouse model, suggesting the treatment may be an option for patients. Injections of such cells are already being tested in scleroderma, and the new finding could be a way of improving cell survival after injection. The study, “Dendritic cells…

Treating patients with drug resistant progressive scleroderma with a combination of immunotherapy and umbilical chord derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could improve their condition according to a study reporting the case of two patients, and published in the journal Stem Cell Investigation.

Preliminary data of Cytori Therapeutics’ STAR Phase 3 trial (NCT02396238) demonstrated that the company’s adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) are feasible for the treatment of patients with scleroderma-caused hand dysfunction. The data will be presented in a poster at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/AHRP…

Two approved treatments for pulmonary arterial hypertension — Tracleer (bosentan) and Opsumit (macitentan) — can block a molecular pathway that promotes fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc), and may be a potential therapy for these patients as well, according to an early study. The study, “Bosentan And Macitentan Prevent The Endothelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition (Endomt)…

In this Scleroderma Foundation video, Janet L. Poole, PhD, OTR/L from the University of New Mexico talks us through some sensible tips to help scleroderma patients manage their fatigue at the 2016 Scleroderma National Patient Education Conference in New Orleans. Read our columnist Nicola Whitehill’s take on scleroderma…

An overview of published studies exploring the use of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in scleroderma patients indicated that the treatment improved Raynaud’s phenomenon and digital ulcers. Findings also showed that TPE made blood less viscous, improving blood flow and preventing blood vessels from becoming blocked. The findings will be presented at the American…

Corbus Pharmaceuticals recently completed its Phase 2 clinical study (NCT02465437) evaluating the drug Resunab (JBT-101) for the treatment of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis. The company expects to report results from this study later this year. Resunab is a novel synthetic oral…

Patients with systemic sclerosis and Raynaud’s syndrome have a high risk of developing other organ complications within two years after the onset of Raynaud’s, according to a study published in the journal PLoS One. The authors reported that these complications mainly occur in the skin, gastrointestinal tract, lungs, heart, kidneys and prostate.

A recent study reported that long-term treatment with Tracleer (bosentan) can be beneficial for patients with systemic sclerosis by reducing the risk or delaying the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Systemic sclerosis disease progression can induce PAH and interstitial lung disease, which leads to poor prognosis. The study “Beneficial effects…