Background: In previous studies, distinct immunological abnormalities have been reported in localized scleroderma (LS). Several pro-inflammatory cytokines have been dem- onstrated at increased levels in sera of patien...
Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a common sequel to allogeneic bone marrowtransplants, which may be accompanied by desirable graft-versus-tumour effects. Sclerodermatous GvHD is a rare subtype that is very difficul...
Background: The transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β) system plays a critical role both in systemic sclerosis (SSc) and hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). Endoglin, known as a gene responsible for HHT, is a ...
We performed a pilot trial of subcutaneous treprostinil for the treatment of digital ulcers in scleroderma. Of the 5 patients completing therapy, ulcer size significantly decreased and no new ulcers occurred on contin...
Recently, we discovered that New Zealand rabbits immunized with human type V collagen plus Freund’ s adjuvant present fibrosis and vasculitis of organs usually affected by systemic sclerosis. In this way, we studied ...
Natural killer (NK) cells are innate immune effectors that produce various immunoregulatory cytokines. Recent studies have shown that NK cells are involved in the initiation of autoimmunity. In this study, we determin...
Background: T-lymphocyte dysfunction has been seldom investigated in collagen vascular disorders. The search for dominant T-cell clones has been scarcely reported, although the presence of such clones might be expecte...
In the period 1994-2002, we saw 71 patients with sclerotic skin chnges; 66 were diagnosed with systemic sclerosis (SSc) while five (7% ) were diagnosed with pseudoscleroderma associated with various malignancies. The ...
Background: In previous trials, UV therapy has been demon- strated to be effective in the treatment of localized scleroderma (LS). To date, a randomized comparison study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of differen...
Background: Progressive facial hemiatrophy (PFH) is characterized by a slowly progressive atrophy of soft tissues and in some cases bony structures. Coexisting features of localized scleroderma (LS) are commonly obser...