Scleroderma Medical News: June 2008

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June 2008

Introducing Sure Steps Connect™: A Web Conference Program for Patients on Actelion PAH Medications. The first web conferences will be held on July 8th, 2008, at 9am and 3pm ET. Actelion. (Also see: Pulmonary Hypertension Treatments )

Abnormal digital neurovascular response to local heating in systemic sclerosis. Thermal hyperaemia could be monitored as a clinical test for neurovascular function in SSc. Further studies are required to test whether the abnormal digital neurovascular response correlates to the degree of peripheral vascular involvement. M. Roustit. Rheumatology 2008 47(6):860-864. (Also see: Raynaud's )

Relationship between capillaroscopic alterations and bone ultrasound parameters in patients with Raynaud phenomenon (RP). Our study suggest that RP, primarily in patients with scleroderma, modify phalangeal bone mass, bone density, and bone quality with a good correlation between nailfold patterns and quantitative ultrasound, independently from confounding variables. Alfredomaria Lurati, MD. The Internet Journal of Rheumatology. 2008. Vol 4 No 2. (Also see: Raynuad's, Osteoporosis, and Capillaroscopy )

Discrepancy Between Simultaneous Digital Skin Microvascular and Brachial Artery Macrovascular Post-Occlusive Hyperemia in Systemic Sclerosis. Microvascular function is impaired in SSc, whereas brachial artery endothelial function is normal. M. Roustit. Journal of Rheumatology. Vol 35 No 6 June 2008. (Also see: Raynaud's )

Interferons and scleroderma-A new clue to understanding the pathogenesis of scleroderma? Interferon therapy also has been implicated in the development or exacerbation of several autoimmune diseases, including systemic scleroderma. Coelho LF. (PubMed) Immunol Lett. 2008 Jun 30;118(2):110-5. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Drugs and Medicine )

Overrepresentation of construction-related occupations in male patients with systemic sclerosis. The prevalence of construction-related professions in males with SSc, according to the limited definition, was tenfold higher than in the general working population. Interestingly, most of the patients with construction-related occupations were electricians. Vanessa Smith. Ann Rheum Dis. 29 May 2008. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma: Environment )

Simvastatin Reduces Endothelial Activation and Damage But Is Partially Ineffective in Inducing Endothelial Repair in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). Treatment with simvastatin results in rapid and significant improvement of measures of endothelial activation, suggesting a potential role of statins in the treatment of peripheral vascular disease in SSc. Journal of Rheumatology. June 2008. (Also see: Medications, Raynaud's, and Causes of Scleroderma: Endothelin )

Prognostic Significance of Bronchoalveolar Lavage Cellular Analysis in Scleroderma Lung Disease. Analysis of data from the Scleroderma Lung Study found that abnormal bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cellularity was associated with more advanced Interstitial lung disease (ILD), but was of no benefit in predicting disease progression or treatment response. Red Orbit. 06/03/08. (Also see: Pulmonary Fibrosis )

Scleroderma Lung Disease. The strategy in scleroderma lung disease when disease extent is mild on high-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT) is observation. To determine who deserves procrastination and careful follow-up (limited Interstitial Lung Diseases (ILD)) and who requires therapy (extensive ILD) is a timely goal. Red Orbit. 06/03/08. (Also see: Pulmonary Involvement, and James Seibold )

Deterioration of lung function is associated with presence of IgM rheumatoid factor (RF) and smoking in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). The presence of IgM RF in smoking SSc patients is associated with deteriorating lung function. Berit Broholm. (SpringerLink) Clinical Rheumatology. 06/05/08. (Also see: Pulmonary Involvement and Quit Smoking ).

Scleroderma with crescentic glomerulonephritis: a case report. Scleroderma is a complex disease, and the best characterized renal involvement in scleroderma is scleroderma renal crisis. However, other renal pathologies can occur in scleroderma. Arunachalam Ramaswami. 7th Space Interactive. 05/13/08. (Also see: Renal Involvement )

Rheumatic disorders as paraneoplastic syndromes. The long-established observation that some rheumatologic disorders (RDs) are associated with, or precede, the clinical manifestations of a variety of solid and hematological tumors represents an important clue for the early diagnosis and effective treatment of the cancers. (PubMed) Racanelli V, Autoimmun Rev. 2008 May;7(5):352-8. (Also see: Scleroderma and Cancer )

Toxicity of radiotherapy(RT) in patients with collagen vascular disease(CVD). Although generally well tolerated, RT in the setting of CVD appears to carry a higher risk of late toxicity. (Wiley Interscience) Cancer, 27 May 2008 (Also see: Medical Tests (Imaging) and Scleroderma and Cancer )

Myocardial involvement in systemic sclerosis. Myocardial perfusion defects in SSc patients are frequent, and the presence of severe skin thickness, digital ulcers and perhaps oesophageal involvement might warrant screening for myocardial involvement. L. Belloli. Rheumatology. May 25, 2008. (Also see: Cardiac Involvement )

Increased Arterial Stiffness as the Marker of Vascular Involvement in Systemic Sclerosis. Augmentation index (AI) and pulse wave velocity (PWV) of the brachial artery were measured. PWV and AI are reproducible indicators of the presence and degree of arterial stiffening in patients with SSc and therefore, may be a useful diagnostic test in the assessment of arterial function. J Rheumatol First Release May 15 2008 (Also see: Cardiac Involvement )

Vaccination in patients with chronic rheumatic or autoimmune diseases. Patients who have chronic rheumatic or autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, or vasculitides, show a risk of infection that is at least 2-fold greater than that for healthy individuals. Vaccination is an option for a substantial number of these infections. (PubMed) Gluck T, Mueller-Ladner U. Clin Infect Dis. 2008 May 1;46(9):1459-65. (Also see: Vaccinations and Prof. Müller-Ladner )

Disturbed angiogenesis in systemic sclerosis(SSc) high levels of soluble endoglin(sENG). The aim of this study was to investigate, in a cross-sectional study, sENG levels together with other serum vascular markers. This study shows increased values of sENG in a large SSc cohort and a relevant association with a vascular phenotype. J. Wipff. Rheumatology Advance Access. May 13, 2008 (Also see: Antibodies and Vasculitis )