​Findings may help explain why SSc affects women and men differently
Written by Patricia Inácio, PhD | April 28, 2026

Some genetic factors linked to systemic sclerosis (SSc), also called scleroderma, may influence disease susceptibility differently in women and men, according to a new study.

Researchers say these findings may help explain why the disease is much more common in women, but often more severe in men. They also represent an early step toward precision medicine approaches that take these sex differences in SSc into account.

Overall, these findings “highlight the need for sex‑aware analytical approaches to uncover disease mechanisms that may be overlooked when both sexes are analysed together,” the researchers wrote.
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The study, “Sex-specific autosomal susceptibility loci in systemic sclerosis: a genome-wide association study,” was published in The Lancet Rheumatology.

Clinical overlap frequently asymptomatic in early stages, creating challenges
Written by Andrea Lobo, PhD | April 14, 2026

Some people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), a condition marked by liver inflammation caused by self-reactive antibodies, a study in Turkey shows.

The study also identified the blood levels of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase (ALT) as the most accurate predictor of AIH.

“Our findings highlight the critical role of routine biochemical monitoring, with ALT emerging as a highly effective [noninvasive] screening tool to guide clinical decision-making,” researchers wrote.

The study, “Prevalence, clinical features, and laboratory predictors of autoimmune hepatitis in systemic sclerosis: A retrospective single-center cohort study,” was published in Clinical Rheumatology.

Number of reported cases of AIH in people with SSc is low
SSc is an autoimmune disease characterized by the buildup of a protein called collagen, the main component of scar tissue. Liver involvement, particularly AIH, may also be seen in people with SSc.

However, the low number of reported cases of AIH in people with SSc and the fact that this clinical overlap is frequently asymptomatic in early stages represent significant challenges for diagnosis and timely treatment.

To learn more, researchers analyzed the medical records of 111 individuals with SSc followed at a specialized center in Turkey between 2015 and 2025. Participants had a mean age of 52.4 years, a median SSc duration of seven years, and were mostly women (88.3%). Regarding disease types, two-thirds of participants had limited cutaneous SSc, while one-third had diffuse SSc.

Most participants had self-reactive antinuclear antibodies, which target proteins in the cell nucleus (97.1%); interstitial lung disease, diseases that cause inflammation and scarring in the lungs (61.3%); and Raynaud’s phenomenon, when fingers and toes are numb and frigid in response to cold temperatures or stress (95.5%).

Overall, eight participants (7.2%) had AIH, diagnosed at a mean age of 46.5 years. There were no significant differences for age, sex, disease duration, interstitial lung disease, or type of self-reactive antibodies between patients with and without AIH.

Among people with AIH, laboratory tests revealed elevated blood levels of liver enzymes, a potential sign of liver damage, and immunoglobulins (antibodies). Liver biopsy indicated inflammation in all patients with AIH, infiltration of immune cells (75% of patients), and structural reorganization of liver cells (37.5%). One patient had permanent liver scarring, or cirrhosis.
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Further analysis indicated that AIH was not significantly associated with patients’ age, sex, or clinical characteristics.

Report supports ASCT as 'important therapeutic option' for SSc
Written by Marisa Wexler, MS | April 7, 2026

​Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT), a procedure that essentially aims to reset the immune system, was effective for controlling scleroderma in a teenager with severe disease that wasn’t responding well to medications.

“ASCT may represent an important therapeutic option, particularly perhaps in patients who develop severe disease at a young age,” the researchers wrote.
The report, “Autologous stem cell transplant for severe, progressive juvenile systemic sclerosis,” was published in Stem Cells Translational Medicine.

Scleroderma, also called systemic sclerosis (SSc), is an inflammatory disorder characterized by abnormal scarring that can affect the skin as well as organs throughout the body. Inflammatory disorders such as SSc are marked by dysregulation of the immune system, which normally helps protect the body from infections.
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ASCT basically intends to replace a patient’s stem cells. After intensive treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation wipe out overly reactive immune cells, the collected stem cells are then transplanted back into the patient to grow a new immune system. The aim is essentially to reset the immune system’s activity so it won’t drive inflammatory disease.

​Genetic data analysis highlights candidates for future trials
Written by Marisa Wexler, MS | March 24, 2026

Through an analysis of genetic data, scientists have identified dozens of existing medications that could potentially be repurposed as treatments for scleroderma, according to a new study.

Potential treatments identified in the analysis include therapies that modulate the activity of estrogen, a female sex hormone, as well as medicines that act on inflammatory pathways or neurotransmitters — signaling molecules that nerve cells use to communicate with each other and the rest of the body.
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Researchers noted that further work is needed to validate these findings, and that the identified drugs are not immediately ready for repurposing, but said their analysis offers a starting point for identifying existing medications that might be explored for scleroderma.
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The study, “Advancing drug development for systemic sclerosis by prioritising findings from human genetic association studies,” was published in Rheumatology.

​It's first biomarker linked to silica and other environmental triggers
Written by Patricia Inácio, PhD | March 17, 2026

​Measuring the blood levels of anti-CD146 antibodies may help identify people with systemic sclerosis (SSc) whose disease is associated with occupational exposure to silica and other mineral dusts, according to a small study.

This is the first biomarker linked to occupational exposure identified in SSc. Detecting these antibodies could help doctors identify patients whose disease may be driven by specific environmental triggers and guide monitoring strategies to detect other occupational diseases linked to those exposures early.
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The study, “Anti-CD146 Autoantibodies: The First Biologic Markers Associated With Occupational Exposure in Systemic Sclerosis,” was published in the journal ACR Open Rheumatology.

But trial testing AISA-021 failed to meet its primary effectiveness measure
Written by Andrea Lobo, PhD | March 10, 2026

Treatment with AISA-021 (cilnidipine), being developed by Aisa Pharma for Raynaud’s phenomenon, safely reduced the frequency and duration of Raynaud’s attacks in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc).

That’s according to recently reported results from the Phase 2 RECONNOITER-1 trial (ACTRN12621000459820) — data that also showed that the once-daily oral therapy reduced Raynaud’s severity, as well as other SSc symptoms, such as digestive and breathing issues, among patients.

However, the reduction in patient-reported weekly Raynaud’s attacks, which was the trial’s primary efficacy measure, was not statistically significant compared with a placebo, the data show. That means the study did not meet its main goal.

These results were reported in an oral presentation at the 9th World Systemic Sclerosis Congress, held March 5-7 in Athens.

The company intends to discuss these Phase 2 results with regulatory authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. AISA’s goal is to define a Phase 3 clinical study and discuss how to move forward to approve AISA-021 for SSc-related Raynaud’s phenomenon.

“While the Phase 2 study did not reach statistical significance on the primary efficacy endpoint in this small study, we believe the consistent effects observed with AISA-021 across a variety of key endpoints [are] very encouraging,” Andrew Sternlicht, MD, Aisa‘s founder and CEO, said in a company press release detailing the findings.

Per AISA, a patient questionnaire found that more than twice as many participants on the therapy saw a reduction of at least 70% in attack frequency.
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“These encouraging results provide strong support for advancing to Phase 3 studies,” Sternlicht said.

​Baths enriched with CO2 offer low-cost option to boost blood flow in fingers
Written by Andrea Lobo, PhD | March 3, 2026

​Hand baths enriched with carbon dioxide (CO2) — a gas that exists naturally in the atmosphere, and is produced by living things breathing out — can significantly widen blood vessels of the fingers in people with systemic sclerosis (SSc)-associated Raynaud’s phenomenon.

That’s according to a small clinical trial in Germany, which found that warm water hand baths can boost blood flow in the fingers in people with these conditions. By widening tiny blood vessels in the fingers more effectively than warm water alone, the treatment may help ease symptoms that make everyday tasks difficult for these patients, according to the researchers.

“These findings support CO₂ hand baths as a safe, low-cost, non-pharmacological adjunct [treatment],” the scientists wrote, adding that “larger trials with clinical endpoints are warranted.”

Patients interested in trying the therapy should first consult their doctors, but a carbon dioxide hand bath might combine sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and an acid (like citric acid or vinegar) in warm water. The fizzing reaction that results releases carbon dioxide, which can help boost circulation.

​The new study, “Carbon dioxide vs. warm-water hand baths in systemic sclerosis with secondary Raynaud’s syndrome – A capillaroscopy centered randomized controlled trial,” was published in the journal Microvascular Research.

ILD progression rates decline over time in EUSTAR registry
Written by Margarida Maia, PhD | February 24, 2026

​The use of immunosuppressive and combination treatments for interstitial lung disease associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc-ILD) has increased significantly over the past two decades, with more than half of patients now starting treatment at their first evaluation, according to a new study.

Over the same period, rates of ILD progression declined. However, the prognosis for people with SSc-ILD “remains suboptimal,” the researchers wrote, highlighting the need for more effective treatments.
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The study, “Impact of evolving treatment patterns on interstitial lung disease progression in systemic sclerosis using the EUSTAR database,” was published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.

​Study finds soluble CD13 higher in patients but not tied to severity
Written by Marisa Wexler, MS | February 17, 2026

Levels of soluble CD13, the circulating form of a protein involved in inflammation and fibrosis (scarring), are generally higher in people with scleroderma, but do not clearly correlate with disease severity or specific clinical features, a new study reports.

The findings suggest that CD13 alone is unlikely to serve as a reliable standalone biomarker for scleroderma, though more research is needed to understand whether it may help track how the disease changes over time.

The study, “Soluble CD13 in systemic sclerosis: clinical observations and transcriptomic insights from peripheral blood,” was published in Arthritis Research & Therapy. 

What scleroderma is and why CD13 may be involved
​Scleroderma, also called systemic sclerosis or SSc, is a disease marked by inflammation and fibrosis that can affect the skin and internal organs. The causes of scleroderma are still not completely understood.

CD13 is a signaling protein known to help regulate inflammation and fibrosis. In this study, the researchers examined whether blood levels of soluble CD13 (sCD13) are altered in people with scleroderma and whether they correlate with SSc subtypes, blood vessel complications, skin and lung fibrosis, or SSc-specific autoantibodies — immune proteins that mistakenly attack the body’s own tissues.

The researchers first analyzed plasma CD13 levels in 30 people: 10 with limited scleroderma, 10 with more severe diffuse scleroderma, and 10 healthy individuals. The groups were matched for factors such as age and sex. Here, the researchers found that CD13 levels were significantly higher in participants with diffuse scleroderma than in those with limited disease, but neither group showed significantly higher levels when compared with healthy controls.
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In a larger group designed to evaluate blood vessel complications, blood levels of CD13 were significantly higher in people with scleroderma than in controls, but no difference was seen between disease subtypes. Likewise, in a third group of patients with early-stage scleroderma, CD13 levels were again elevated compared with controls, but did not differ between disease subtypes.
“Altogether, significant elevation of sCD13 in SSc patients compared to healthy controls was consistently observed, however there was no difference between disease subtypes,” the team wrote.

PD-1 receptor ID'd as target for slowing disease progression
Written by Steve Bryson, PhD | February 10, 2026

​Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) — a type of regulatory cell found in various tissues — work to reduce lung scarring in systemic sclerosis (SSc) by suppressing the growth of certain immune T-cells that carry the PD-1 receptor, according to a new study.

PD-1 is an immune checkpoint protein receptor found on T-cells that normally functions to prevent overactive immune responses and autoimmunity. In SSc patients, however, a subset of T-cells that carry PD-1 appears to drive disease progression, particularly in SSc-related interstitial lung disease (SSc-ILD), the data suggested.
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“These findings highlight PD-1 as a therapeutic target and support the clinical investigation of MSC-based interventions for SSc-ILD,” the researchers wrote.
Their study, “Mesenchymal stromal cells ameliorate systemic sclerosis-interstitial lung disease via PD-1/PD-L1 signalling axis,” was published in the journal RMD Open.