CHICAGO—Nine out of 10 scleroderma cases include clinical signs of gastrointestinal (GI) involvement, with severe involvement associated with high mortality rates, but the pathology of this is not very well understood, a GI expert said at the ACR’s State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium. That has left clinicians with a slate of treatments—anti-reflux, antimicrobials and prokinetics—that address only…
A recent study found that mycophenolate mofetil is an effective alternative for the treatment of systemic scleroderma with interstitial lung disease, resulting in possible long-term improvement. According to Aryeh Fischer, MD, this new research points to the future expansion of treatment options…
SAN FRANCISCO—Post-menopausal women with osteoporosis, previously treated with oral bisphosphonates, had greater increases in bone density when taking denosumab compared with zoledronic acid over a year’s time, according to a study presented at the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting. The findings were discussed in the Discovery 2015 plenary session, which focused on new research. In the…
Research by Dr. Anthony Rosen, MD, and colleagues found a link between cancer and scleroderma, suggesting the immune system may edit cancer cells. In an interview with The Rheumatologist, Dr. Rosen explores the meaning of this finding and its potential…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is associated with a significantly increased risk of adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes and all-cause mortality, according to Danish researchers. HS is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease and is most common in women. It is typically diagnosed after long delays, Dr. Alexander Egeberg of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues…
A 47-year-old Caucasian woman presented to the rheumatology clinic with a one-year history of pain and swelling involving the wrists, hands, ankles and feet that progressively worsened. Her symptoms included generalized fatigue, morning stiffness in the hands and lower back lasting more than an hour, Raynaud’s phenomena (triphasic), photosensitivity, tightening of the skin of the…
In a study of patients with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, researchers found that MRI scans can be used to detect the muscle water changes that precede marked intramuscular fat accumulation that may contribute to the disease’s presentation. MRI biomarkers may prove useful in clinical trials for therapies for this and other neuromuscular disorders by enabling researchers to measure disease progression…
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an acquired, sporadic, autoimmune, connective tissue disease with two subsets: limited cutaneous scleroderma (lcSSc) and diffuse cutaneous scleroderma (dcSSc). In the U.S., the annual incidence is about 20 cases per 1 million adults, with a prevalence of about 240 cases per 1 million adults.1 As with other connective tissue disorders, SSc…
CHICAGO—Stem cell transplantation for systemic sclerosis patients has come a long way over the past decade, with more finely calibrated dosing and better patient selection, said George Georges, MD, associate member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and associate professor in the medical oncology division at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle,…
CHICAGO—Scleroderma patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) might benefit from more aggressive therapy, an expert in the field said in a session on lung involvement in rheumatic diseases at the American College of Rheumatology’s 2015 State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in May. Newer trials—the SERAPHIN trial on macitentan, GRIPHON on selexipag, and AMBITION on an ambrisentan/tadalafil combination—show…