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RheumNow Week in Review – 24 June 2016
Dr. Cush reviews highlights published this week at RheumNow.com.
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Netrin-1 May Promote Lung Fibrosis in Scleroderma
Mechanisms underlying the pulmonary fibrosis of systemic sclerosis are poorly understood, yet are the focus of both research and new drug development.
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Scleroderma Digital Ulcers Fail to Respond to Endothelin Antagonist
Khanna and coworkers have published the results of the DUAL-1 and DUAL-2 clinical trials (sponsored by Actelion Pharmaceuticals) testing the efficacy macitentan in reducing the number of new digital ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis.
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faSScinate Study Shows Tocilizumab to be Effective in Systemic Sclerosis
The results of the faSScinate trial were published in Lancet showing that treatment with Actemra (tocilizumab) resulted in a reduction in skin thickness and an improvement in lung function in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc).
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Risk Factors for Pulmonary Hypertension in Lupus
Fidler and colleagues from Toronto have recently shown that pulmonary disease is common in lupus, as they found 56% of their patients with abnormal pulmonary assessments.
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Drugs that May Induce Raynaud's
A systematic review by Khouri examined the extent drugs are capable of inducing Raynaud's phenomenon (RP).
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Muscle Weakness Predicts Disability in Scleroderma
Muscle weakness was independently associated with disability in patients with scleroderma, and as muscle weakness worsened, disability also increased, according to findings from a retrospective, nested, case control study.
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Pulmonary Hypertension Earlier and More Severe in Men with Scleroderma
Pulmonary hypertension is an uncommon complication of systemic sclerosis (SSc) and historically thought to slowly evolve in those with limited scleroderma over many years.
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Mycophenolate in Scleroderma Lung Disease
Clements et al presented the results of their Scleroderma Lung Study II wherein PSS patients with interstitial lung disease were randomized to receive either 3 grams daily of mycopheonolate or 2mg/kg/day of cyclophosphamide.
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Study Backs CellCept for ILD in Scleroderma
MONTREAL -- An immunosuppressive drug was as effective as a standard agent for interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with scleroderma, a researcher said.
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Only 1 in 5 Seek Treatment for Raynaud's
October is Raynaud's Awareness Month according to the Raynaud's Association (http://www.raynauds.org), and a whopping 80 percent of sufferers are not aware they have the disorder and do not seek treatment.
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VEGF121-Fibrin as a Potential Therapy for Skin Ulcers in Systemic Sclerosis
The etiology of systemic sclerosis (SSc) remains unclear, but appears to involve complex pathogenic interactions between the immune system, the vasculature and fibrotic processes.
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High False Negative Rate with PFTs in Scleroderma
Researchers in Zurich studed 102 systemic sclerosis with serial PFTs and high-resolution computed tomography of the chest (HRCT). They found significant interstitial lung disease (ILD) by HRCT in 63 percent.
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The FASSCINATE study presented at EULAR 2015 was instrumental in tocilizumab (TCZ) getting a nod from the FDA to develop TCZ for scleroderma.
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2015 Guidelines for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive, fibrosing form of interstitial pneumonia, with poor survival rates of nearly 50% at 3 years.
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Troponin and BNP in the Diagnosis of Pulmonary Hypertension
Common cardiac biomarkers could be used to identify patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) at risk for developing pulmonary hypertension, French researchers reported.
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Fresolimumab (anti-TGF beta) Improves Systemic Sclerosis
Transforming growth factor (TGF-β) is known to have potent profibrotic activity and has been implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis a futile condition with no effective disease modifying treatments.
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Management of Digital Ulcers in Scleroderma
Currently there are no FDA-approved medications for the treatment of digital ulcerations in the United States. Digital ulcers are a common, unfortunate and difficult to manage consequence of the vascular obliteration and fibrosis that accompanies systemic sclerosis.
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The EULAR 2015 Report- Friday
These abstracts and presentations were presented 12 June at the EULAR 2015 annual meeting.
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