Systemic sclerosis

Research indicates that a home-based, self-management program that promotes easy hand exercises and gives direction on moisturizing and warming effectively reduces pain and improves function in the hands of patients with systemic sclerosis.

The World Scleroderma Foundation has released preliminary guidance to address questions on COVID-19 in patients with systemic sclerosis.

The authors of a case report discuss the experience of a patient with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease who developed a mild form of COVID-19.

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An analysis of percutaneous coronary intervention outcomes among people with rheumatic diseases suggests that those with systemic sclerosis have an elevated risk for multiple in-hospital complications, while patients with systemic lupus erythematosus have an increased bleeding risk.

People with systemic sclerosis are between two and three times more likely to experience gastrointestinal bleeding than people without the autoimmune condition, research carried out in Taiwan shows.

Individuals with systemic sclerosis have lower bone mineral density and a higher risk for vertebral fracture than those without the disease, indicate findings from a meta-analysis.

US researchers have identified a number of chronic conditions associated with rheumatoid arthritis, including some that may predispose to RA development and others that may arise as a result of RA.

A 13-year cohort study indicates that systemic rheumatic diseases are associated with an increased incidence of opportunistic infections, and suggests that patients with polymyositis or dermatomyositis have the highest rates.

A retrospective study shows that treating mild interstitial lung disease with immunosuppressive drugs preserves lung function in patients with systemic sclerosis.

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Findings from the phase II ASSET trial suggest that patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis who are treated with abatacept do not experience significantly greater improvements in skin disease than those given placebo.

Nintedanib slows lung function decline in a variety of patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease, suggests a subgroup analysis of data from the SENSCIS trial.

Nintedanib’s safety and tolerability profile is similar in patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease and those with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to a comparison of data from the SENSCIS and INPULSIS trials.

Randomized trial findings presented at the EULAR 2019 congress in Madrid, Spain, suggest that pirfenidone does not stabilize or improve lung function in patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Findings from the SENSCIS trial indicate that the tyrosine kinase inhibitor nintedanib reduces the annual rate of decline in forced vital capacity among patients with systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease.

Individuals with systemic sclerosis have an elevated risk for ischemic stroke after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, study findings suggest.

Progressive skin fibrosis is significantly associated with worsening lung function and an increased risk for death among patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis, an analysis of EUSTAR data shows.

Jung JY et al. Pediatr Rheumatol 2018; 16: 79. doi: 10.1186/s12969-018-0296-z