News

Researchers at Germany’s University of Luebeck and Charité University recently presented a study where they reported that circulating antibodies against specific chemokine (small proteins with an important role in the immune system) receptors exist in higher levels in patients with systemic sclerosis, and these antibodies correlate with disease progression and clinical…

Researchers at ChemomAb and Meir Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel, and the University of Florence, Italy, recently presented a study investigating the therapeutic effect of the monoclonal antibody CM-101 in animal models of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The data was presented last week in a talk…

A research team recently proposed that injecting fat and stromal vascular fraction in the face and hands of systemic sclerosis patients can significantly improve their functional capabilities and quality of life. The results were titled “Treating Scleroderma of the face and hands with fat and stromal vascular fraction” and were presented last…

Researchers at Paris Descartes University, France, recently presented the results of a study investigating the effects of estrogen in the development of experimental dermal fibrosis and on the response of profibrotic cells to the major fibrosis cytokine-transforming growth factor (TGF)-β. The presentation, “Estrogens Inhibit the Profibrotic Effects of…

Nintedanib (OFEV) seems to inhibit the activation of fibroblasts and to exert an anti-fibrotic effect in mouse models of systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to data recently presented at the 4th Systemic Sclerosis World Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, last week. The presentation, “Effects of Nintedanib on Fibrotic and…

Inventiva, a drug discovery company focused on treatments for fibrosis, oncology, and rare diseases, discussed one of its most advanced clinical products, IVA337, a new drug candidate able to act on several components of the fibrotic process and on several organs, representing a potential therapy for systemic sclerosis. The company was at the…

At last week’s 4th Systemic Sclerosis World Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, a team of researchers presented data about the role of innate lymphoid cells in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and associated fibrosis. The presentation, by T. Wohlfahrt from the Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Clinical Immunology at…

A new model, produced by analyzing 10 different systemic sclerosis (SSc) gene expression data sets, showed that pulmonary fibrosis (PF) in SSc is likely the result of an initial insult activating the interferon signaling pathway. Researchers believe that the uncovered processes might reflect fibrotic processes in all SSc-affected tissues. The research team, led by…

Scleroderma News correspondent Dr. Ana de Barros conducted an exclusive interview with Dr. Colin Meyer, chief medical officer and vice president of product development at Reata Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Irving, Texas. The interview took place during the 4th Systemic Sclerosis World Congress held in Lisbon, Portugal,…

Scientists from the University of Florence, Italy, presented a study investigating the participation of the Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal transition (EndoMT) process in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis (SSc) at the 4th Systemic Sclerosis World Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, that concluded Feb. 20, 2016. SSc is a chronic connective tissue disease…