Problems with the heart’s left ventricle at a subclinical — not yet symptomatic and overt — level were evident in 1 in every 4 people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) taking part in an Australian study when a potentially more sensitive measure than left ventricle ejection fraction was used. Both…

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…

Levels of a protein called soluble suppression of tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) were linked to signs of cardiac involvement in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study found. Interleukin-33 (IL-33), a molecule that binds to sST2, was associated with worse skin scarring in patients. The findings suggest sST2 could be a…

Muscular involvement is linked with more severe symptoms in people with scleroderma, affecting heart, lungs and the digestive system, a study from China reports. These patients are likely to have a worse disease prognosis and poorer survival, its data show. The study “Myopathy is a Risk Factor for…

Being older, male, using opioids, having the diffuse cutaneous disease type, and muscle disease, increase the risk of pseudo-obstruction in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc), a study shows. The research, “Evaluation of risk factors for pseudo-obstruction in systemic sclerosis,” was published in the journal…

Pacemaker implantation in systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with secondary complete heart block (CHB) may be a required procedure to avoid clinical complications, according to recent case report. The case study, titled “Complete heart block in systemic sclerosis: A case report and literature review,” describes an SSc patient with…