News

A team of researchers from University College London and Actelion Pharmaceuticals showed that macitentan (Opsumit) can prevent pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in a mouse model of systemic sclerosis (SSc) by preventing heart tissue remodeling and functional changes. The results were presented this week by E. Derrett-Smith at the 4th…

Men with systemic sclerosis (SSc) who develop pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) tend to have poorer survival rates in  the first five years after diagnosis, a University of Toronto study reported. Men were also found to develop PAH at an earlier stage in comparison to women, and to suffer a more…

Cytori Therapeutics recently announced its participation in the 4th World Systemic Sclerosis World Congress taking place Feb. 18-20, 2016, in Lisbon, Portugal. In a presentation titled “Treating Scleroderma of the Face and Hands with Fat and Stromal Vascular Fraction,” Professor Guy Magalon from the Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux…

Patients with connective tissue disease or systemic sclerosis associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) who are positive for anti-U1 RNP antibodies have more a favorable disease prognosis than patients without these antibodies, a study published in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology showed. Anti-U1 RNP antibodies are autoantibodies directed at nuclear proteins. They are…

The 4th Systemic Sclerosis World Congress, organized by the World Scleroderma Foundation (WSF), will run Feb. 18–20 at the Lisbon Congress Center in Lisbon, Portugal, and Scleroderma News Today will be there to cover and report on the proceedings The first three Systemic Sclerosis World Congresses — held…

New research from the University of Chicago Medical Center indicates that African-Americans with connective tissue diseases, including scleroderma, are twice as likely as Caucasians with the same medical conditions to have specific risk factors for a heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular-related death. The study, “The Prevalence of…

Fibrocell Science, Inc., recently highlighted the latest advancements in its pipeline of products focused on autologous cell and gene therapy treatments for several conditions, including scleroderma. The company’s autologous fibroblast technology uses a patented manufacturing process that involves collecting small skin biopsies from patients, separating the tissue into its component cells, and then…

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients are at a substantially increased risk for the development of venous thromboembolism (VTE, obstructing blood clots), including pulmonary embolism (PE) and deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a study reported. The study, “Risk of Pulmonary Embolism and Deep Venous Thrombosis in Systemic Sclerosis: A General…

Analyzing data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS), a team led by researchers at the University of Texas McGovern Medical School at Houston showed that systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related interstitial lung disease (ILD) is not genetically linked to idiopathic interstitial pneumonia. SSc-ILD has clinical and radiological similarities to idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, and…

The efficiency of adipose-derived stromal vascular fraction (ADSVF), or cells isolated from fat tissue, to treat ischemia and skin fibrosis in the hands of systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients has been investigation in a small clinical trial. A new study reported on the 12-month follow-up of patients receiving this treatment and…