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| Scleroderma Medical News by Date |
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| November 2009 |
| Malnutrition Is Common in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc): Results from the Canadian Scleroderma Research Group Database. The risk for malnutrition in SSc is moderate and is associated with shorter disease duration, markers of gastrointestinal (GI) involvement, and disease severity. Patients with SSc should be screened for malnutrition, and potential underlying causes assessed and treated when possible. Murray Baron. J Rheumatol. October 15, 2009. (Also see: Loss of Appetite) |
| BANK1 functional variants are associated with susceptibility to diffuse systemic sclerosis in Caucasians. Our results suggest that BANK1 gene confers susceptibility to systemic scleroderma (SSc) in general, and specifically to the diffuse SSc and anti-topoisomerase-I antibody subsets. B Rueda. Ann Rheum Dis. 8 October 2009. (Also see: Causes of Scleroderma) |
| A prospective open-label study of mycophenolate mofetil for the treatment of diffuse systemic sclerosis.We observed significant improvements in skin scores, peripheral vascular involvement and patient-perceived health status. Pulmonary function studies did not worsen as expected, but instead showed a trend towards improvement. Chris T. Derk. Rheumatology. October 21, 2009. (See also: Medications) |
| Scleroderma Lung Study II. This study compares 2 different medications—daily oral cyclophosphamide (CYC, also called CytoxanTM) with daily oral mycophenolate mofetil (MMF, also called CellceptTM) in the treatment of scleroderma-related pulmonary fibrosis. There are twelve study centers across the U.S. This study is currently recruiting. University of California, Los Angeles. November 2009. (Also see: Pulmonary Fibrosis, Cellcept, Cytoxan, and Clinical Trials) |
| Survival, Causes of Death, and Risk Factors Associated With Mortality in Spanish Systemic Sclerosis Patients: Results From a Single University Hospital. Ten-year survival is over 70% in Spanish SSc patients. The main causes of death are lung and cardiac involvement, and to a lesser extent, peripheral vascular disease and coexisting malignancy. Diffuse subset, proteinuria, PH, elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate and older age at diagnosis are the main risk factors for mortality. Beatriz E. Joven, MD Seminars in Arthritis and Rheumatism. 27 September 2009. (Also see: Prognosis and Mortality) |
| Association of TNFSF4 (OX40L) polymorphisms with susceptibility to Systemic Sclerosis. It is increasingly being appreciated that multiple autoimmune diseases share common susceptibility genes. Polymorphisms in the TNFSF4 gene region are associated with susceptibility to SSc and its clinical and autoantibody subsets. TNFSF4 may be another gene that confers risk to multiple autoimmune diseases. Pravitt Gourh Ann Rheum Dis. 23 September 2009. (Also see: Genetics and Scleroderma and Polyautoimmunity) |
| Is Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) Really a Late Complication of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc)? In contrast to the expected scenario, early onset PAH occurred in approximately half of SSc patients. Early onset PAH was as frequent among patients with diffuse as limited SSc. Annual screening for PAH should be implemented immediately after SSc diagnosis for all patients. Eric Hachulla, MD, PhD. Chest. October 2009. (Also see: PAH Secondary to SSc) |
| Interstitial lung disease in collagen vascular diseases. Therapeutic experience is heterogeneous but evidence is accumulating suggesting that non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) in the collagen vascular diseases is amenable to immunosuppression. Rapid clinical and/or radiological deterioration, reflecting inflammatory activity, appears to mark those patients who are most likely to benefit from cyclophosphamide therapy. A. Schnabel Zeitschrift für Rheumatologie. October, 2009. (Also see: Autoimmune Interstitial Pneumonia) |
| The European League Against Rheumatism 2009 |
| EULAR 2009 took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, June 13 - 10. The aim was to provide a forum of the highest standard for scientific (both clinical and basic), educational and social exchange between professionals involved in rheumatology and liaising with patient organisations to achieve progress in the clinical care of patients with rheumatic diseases. |
| Evaluation of Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Systemic Sclerosis (SSc), during Treatment with Bosentan (Preliminary Report). Despite small number of patients, the results of our study seem to indicate that in SSc patients, the use of bosentan (for management of pulmonary arterial hypertension and prevention of ischemic digital ulcers) should not determine significant decrease of bone mineral density. On the contrary, in this study we have observed that bosentan stabilizes pulmonary artery PA systolic pressure and pulmonary function tests in SSc patients. S. Bellissimo. (SAT0234). EULAR 2009. (Also see: Bone Density and Bosentan) |
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| Go to Scleroderma Medical News: October 2009 |
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