| Medications for Scleroderma, Arthritis,
Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases |
| This page was written by Shelley Ensz, and has not yet been medically edited. See Disclaimer. |
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| Scleroderma Treatments - General |
| Unfortunately, there's no proven treatment and no cure for scleroderma yet. However, there are treatments for many of the symptoms plus experimental Treatments & Clinical Trials, and Research Registries for patients. |
| Scleroderma Treatment Options. Because no two cases of Scleroderma are alike, identifying your disease subtype, stage, and involved organs is very important in determining the best course of action for treatment. Current therapies use medications that focus on the four main features of the disease: inflammation, autoimmunity, vascular disease, and tissue fibrosis. John Hopkins Scleroderma Center. |
| Zurich: Novel pharmaceutical treatment for scleroderma. A novel pharmaceutical treatment for scleroderma, comprising the administration of miR-29, has been discovered by Steffen Gay, Oliver Distler and Britta Maurer of the Department of Rheumatology at Zurich University. Science Business. 05/13/10.(Also see: Dr. Oliver Distler) |
| arGentis Issued Key Patent Related to Treating Fibrosing Diseases by Induction of Immune Tolerance. The issued claims include various immunotherapy combinations used to treat scleroderma, a chronic autoimmune disease of the connective tissue. arGentis is finalizing plans to conduct a Phase IIb trial for their scleroderma therapy, ARG201. PharmaLive. May 2010. |
| Pharmacotherapy of systemic sclerosis (SSc). Although there is no effective disease-modifying treatment for patients with SSc, quality of life, morbidity and mortality can be improved by using targeted therapy directed at affecting the consequences of damage to lungs, blood vessels, kidneys and the gastrointestinal tract. Innovative approaches to treating SSc are under intense investigation. AE Postlethwaite. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2010 Apr;11(5):789-806. (Also see: Medications) |
| Egr-1: a target for scleroderma therapy. Two separate research groups have discovered that the molecule EGR-1 (early growth response 1), which regulates gene expression, plays a central role in the development of fibrosis, a condition in which organ-supporting tissue becomes thick, hard, and rigid, hindering normal tissue and organ function. Northwestern University. 7th Space Interactive. 04/15/10. |
| Innovative therapies for systemic sclerosis. Although there is still no treatment that is unequivocally effective for scleroderma, there have been some promising developments over the past number of years with identification of novel candidate targets and innovative strategies, including targeted immunomodulatory therapies, tyrosine kinase inhibitors and agents that may promote vascular repair. Voon H. Ong. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 25 February 2010. |
| Phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDEis) in the management of autoimmune disease. The emerging trends make it necessary to exploit the full therapeutic potential of PDEis in various autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, profibrotic conditions and PAH. (PubMed) P. Shenoy. Autoimmun Rev. February 8 2010. Also see: (Rheumatoid Arthritis) |
| Observational Study of Treatment Outcome in Early Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis. Using this observational approach, there were no obvious differences in outcome between five groups on five different protocols after allowing as far as possible for baseline differences in treatment allocations. Ariane L. Herrick. . Rheum., December 1, 2009. |
| Rapamycin versus methotrexate in early diffuse systemic sclerosis: Results from a randomized, single-blind pilot study. Rapamycin has a reasonable safety profile in a select group of patients with scleroderma. Larger trials are needed to assess the efficacy of rapamycin in patients with early diffuse SSc. Su TI. (PubMed) Arthritis Rheum. 2009 Nov 30;60(12):3821-3830. |
| Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis - Strike While the Iron is Hot. Early prognosis prediction is a major aim. The second is a realisation that in patients who have undergone immunoablation for SSc via autologous stem cell transplantation, remodelling of miscrovasculature and regression of fibrosis have been observed. A. Tyndall. (SP0084). EULAR 2009. (Also see: Scleroderma Treatments) |
| Corthera heart drug lands fast-track. Corthera’s Relaxin, a potential acute heart failure treatment will be fast-tracked by the FDA. Relaxin treatment failed a late-stage trial by Genentech spinoff Connetics Corp. as a treatment for the crippling tissue disease scleroderma. Ron Leuty. Triangle Business Journal. 10/01/09. |
| Licocaine for the Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) - A Randomised Clinical Trial. Intravenous lidocaine does not appear to improve the total skin thickening, the main capillaroscopy abnormalities and the quality of life in scleroderma patients. R. Riera. (SAT0227) EULAR 2009. |
| New Treatment for Tough Disease. Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine found that rosiglitazone, a treatment commonly used in type-2 diabetes, may reduce the severity of scleroderma. (Huliq) The American Journal of Pathology. February 2009. |
| arGentis Receives Favorable Opinion for European Orphan Drug Designation. arGentis Pharmaceuticals, LLC announced today that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products adopted a positive opinion recommending the company’s product candidate ARG201 (native type 1 bovine collagen) for the treatment of diffuse systemic sclerosis, also known as systemic scleroderma for designation as an orphan medicinal product to the European Commission. arGentis Pharmaceuticals. 01/06/09. |
| An Open-Label Pilot Study Of Infliximab Therapy In Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis (dcSSc). In dcSSc infliximab did not show clear benefit at 26 weeks but was associated with clinical stabilisation and fall in two laboratory markers of collagen synthesis. The frequency of suspected infusion reactions may warrant additional immunosuppression in any future studies in SSc. C. P. Denton. Ann Rheum Dis. 9 September 2008. (Also see: Remicade) |
 A word of caution regarding single-center, retrospective studies. Patients frequently improve on placebo. Patients who are improving usually attribute it to their therapy and thus stay with it. Thus uncontrolled cohorts become enriched for "responders" while failures seek other paths. This dynamic underlies virtually all therapeutic "breakthroughs" which is why large scale double-blinded clinical trials are crucial for determining valid scleroderma treatments. |
A retrospective randomly selected cohort study of D-penicillamine treatment in rapidly progressive diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis of recent onset. In a population of patients with diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis, with progressive disease of recent onset, D-penicillamine treatment at a median dose of 750 mg per day caused a statistically significant reduction in skin involvement and improvement of renal, cardiac and pulmonary involvement. (PubMed) Br J Dermatol. 2008 Feb 16. (Also see: Clinical Trials, and Skin Fibrosis) |
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| Scleroderma Clinical Trials and Open Enrollments Includes proven treatments, unproven, open enrollments, pending results, and research registries. ISN. |
| Scleroderma Related Medications MedicineNet |
| Efficacy of UVA1 phototherapy in 230 patients with various skin diseases. Besides topical and systemic therapy, UVA1 radiation is a good option of treatment in various skin diseases. It is one of the first-line treatments for several sclerotic diseases and it often improves pruritus considerably. (PubMed) Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2008 Feb; 24(1):19-23. (Also see: Morphea) |
| Systemic sclerosis and related connective tissue diseases: present and future. Although considerable progress has been made in recent years, we have a long way to go. Early diagnosis and treatment with effective therapies are key to providing patients with the best possible long-term outcomes. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2007, 9(Suppl 2):S1. (Also see: Connective Tissue Disease) |
| Therapeutic targets in systemic sclerosis. Substantial advances have been made in elucidating the pathogenesis of SSc, which has been facilitated in part by the development of more appropriate animal models. Targeting of several putative mediators is now feasible. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2007, 9(Suppl 2):S6. (Also see: Clinical Trials) |
| Scleroderma Care and Research Journal (PDF) This inaugural issue for physicians focuses on elevating the standards of care for scleroderma lung involvement. Articles include Interstitial Lung Disease in Systemic Sclerosis: Optimizing Evaluation and Management, as well as Pulmonary Hypertension Related to Systemic Sclerosis: A Primer for the Rheumatologist. Journal of the Scleroderma Clinical Trials Consortium (SCTC) Vol 1, No. 1, Autumn 2003. (Also see: Pulmonary Hypertension) |
| Nifedipine effect on red cell rheological properties in patients with systemic scleroderma. In the present study we were able to demonstrate that erythrocyte deformability and two other related variables such as membrane fluidity and osmotic fragility improve significantly with nifedipine therapy. It is likely that nifedipine inhibiting cytoplasmic calcium accumulation could restore some red blood cell membrane properties. PubMed. Clin Hemorheol Microcirc. 2007;36(2):105-10. |
| Imatinib mesylate reduces production of extracellular matrix and prevents development of experimental dermal fibrosis. Considering its favorable pharmacokinetics and clinical experience with its use in other diseases, imatinib mesylate is a promising candidate for the treatment of fibrotic diseases such as SSc. PubMed. Arthritis Rheum. 2007 Jan;56(1):9-12. (Also see: Skin Fibrosis) |
| Iloprost, Ventavist (Prostecyclin) |
| Gene expression profiling in circulating endothelial cells from systemic sclerosis patients shows an altered control of apoptosis and angiogenesis that is modified by Iloprost infusion. We report here that circulating endothelial cells in patients with Systemic Sclerosis show an altered expression of genes involved in the control of apoptosis and angiogenesis. Moreover we describe that Iloprost infusion has a strong effect on endothelial cells and progenitors since it is able to modulate both their number and their gene expression profile. Elisa Tinazzi. Arthritis Research & Therapy 2010, 12:R131. (Also see: Endothelial cells) |
| Low versus High-dose Iloprost Therapy Over 21 Days in Patients with Secondary Raynaud's Phenomenon and Systemic Sclerosis: A Randomized, Open, Single-center Study. Low-dose iloprost was shown to be equally effective as high-dose iloprost in longterm treatment and was very effective in therapy of digital ulcers. A. Kawald. J Rheumatol. July 15 2008. (Also see: Raynaud's, Digital Ulcers, and Skin Fibrosis). |
| Scleroderma Symptoms ISN. |
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