How Superman and Christopher Reeve have inspired me over time by Tomisa Starr | December 11, 2024

Years before my scleroderma diagnosis, I was a fighter. I was born almost three months premature and came into this world fighting. One of my maternal grandmother’s friends asked her if I would live. “She’s too ornery not to,” my grandmother said. Even then, she knew I was a fighter.

I also had quite the temper.

I discovered Superman comics (they came in many titles) at age 6. Superman inspired me because he’s big, strong, and powerful — physically, everything I wasn’t. Superman protected human beings. He never retaliated against them, no matter what they’d done. He fought injustice, and he always stood up for what was good.
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When I watched the news with my parents and grandparents, I saw a lot of injustice in the world. I wanted to be like Superman and fight it, but I was only 6. Since I couldn’t save the world, I decided to make a positive change in myself by working on my temper. Superman inspired me because he never got angry.

Smoking, higher BMI linked to more fatigue; older age, being male to less
by Andrea Lobo, PhD | December 3, 2024

​Fatigue levels in people with scleroderma, also known as systemic sclerosis or SSc, are tied to several social, demographic, lifestyle, and disease-related factors, according to a study by a multinational team of researchers.

Smoking, higher body mass index (BMI) -- a measure of body fat based on height and weight -- pain, gastrointestinal involvement, and lung disease were among the factors associated with more fatigue. In contrast, older age and male sex were linked to lower fatigue scores.

“Some factors that we have identified may be modifiable using generic interventions, including BMI and current smoking; as with any patients, people with SSc should be advised and supported to maintain a healthy lifestyle,” the researchers wrote, noting, however, that “in people with SSc, fatigue scores were substantially higher than in the general population.”

The team also called on clinicians to focus on pain when treating scleroderma patients, and seek ways to lessen its impact.

“Given the substantial association of pain with fatigue in our study, healthcare professionals should work with patients to identify aspects of [the] disease that are causing pain and attempt to address them,” the researchers wrote.
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The study, “Fatigue levels and associated factors in systemic sclerosis: a cross-sectional study of 2385 SPIN Cohort participants,” was published in the journal Rheumatology.

Therapy also being developed for other autoimmune diseases, cancer by Steve Bryson, PhD | November 26, 2024

​Soquelitinib, Corvus Pharmaceuticals’ immune-modulating investigational oral treatment for autoimmune diseases and certain cancers, reduced the signs and symptoms of lung disease caused by systemic sclerosis (SSc), according to new preclinical data.

Designed to selectively block ITK, an enzyme predominantly found in immune T-cells, soquelitinib suppresses Th2 cells — a type of immune helper T-cells whose activation drives the development of many autoimmune and allergic diseases. At the same time, ITK inhibition promotes the growth of Th1-type helper T-cells, which are required for immunity to infections and tumors.

The treatment’s goal is to prevent lung damage, inflammation, and high blood pressure related to SSc. It’s also being investigated in other autoimmune diseases and cancers associated with T-cells.

“We continue to build evidence that selective ITK inhibition can modulate immune responses for a wide range of immune diseases,” Richard A. Miller, MD, co-founder, president, and CEO of Corvus, said in a company press release.
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Yannick Allanore, MD, PhD, a professor of rheumatology at Université Paris Cité in France, presented the preclinical data as a poster at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2024, held in earlier this month in Washington, D.C.

Researchers sequence lung fibroblasts to test hypothesis by Steve Bryson, PhD | November 19, 2024

​Cells derived from people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) had widespread DNA mutations compared with healthy cells, which may explain the higher risk of cancer in this patient population, according to a study.

Changes included mutational patterns found solely in the genomes of certain cancers, as well as changes in one or two DNA building blocks, insertions and deletions of DNA segments, and alterations in whole chromosomes.

The study, “Widespread mutagenesis and chromosomal instability shape somatic genomes in systemic sclerosis,” was published in Nature Communications.

SSc, or scleroderma, is an autoimmune disorder that affects the skin and connective tissue. It’s marked by the build-up of scar tissue in the skin and potentially various organs, including the heart and blood vessels, as well as the lungs, stomach, and kidneys.
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Studies suggest that the incidence of cancer in people with SSc is higher than in the general population, with up to about one in five patients developing cancer. Because the abnormal immune response in SSc can damage a wide range of tissues, it’s been suspected that this damage may extend to DNA, thus giving rise to cancer-causing mutations.