Vasculopathy is a prevalent complication that may appear in the early stage of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). Traditional Chinese medical prescription-Yiqihuoxue formula (YQHX) has been used as therapeutic option for SSc our department, which acquired significant treatment effect. We interrogated role YQHX on with by investigating its effects HDMECs from H2O2 injury. The viability were induced and t...

Objective To investigate the role of whole blood viscosity in digital ulcer (DU) development in patients with diffuse and limited Systemic sclerosis. Methods A convenience sample of patients with Systemic sclerosis (SSc) was selected from the adult Rheumatology clinic at the University of Chicago. The study group consisted of patients with SSc (with ulcers present, a history of ulcers, and no...

Atmospheric air pollution has been associated with a range of adverse health effects. The environment plays a causative role in the development of Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). The aim of the present study is to explore the association between particulate (PM10) and benzene (B) exposure in Italian patients with systemic sclerosis and their clinical characteristics of the disease. A correlation stud...

OBJECTIVES To determine the relationship between clinical features and circulating levels of active transforming growth factor (TGF) beta1 in the major subsets of systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS In a cross-sectional study cases of diffuse cutaneous SSc (dose) (n = 27) or limited cutaneous SSc (dose) (n = 20) were compared with healthy controls (n = 22). Active and total TGFbeta1 was measure...

Objective Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) serve as screening tests for connective tissue diseases but have low specificity. In this pilot study, we aimed to identify patients with first-time positive ANA and musculoskeletal complaints and correlate serum soluble vascular adhesion molecules as biomarkers. Methods Prospective, observational study with 100 ANA-positive patients, comparing them to a...

In the past 5 years approximately 500 patients worldwide suffering from severe autoimmune disease (AD) have received an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as treatment following high-dose chemotherapy. The EBMT and EULAR data base contains 370 registrations, the most frequently transplanted ADs being multiple sclerosis (MS), systemic sclerosis (SSc), rheumatoid arthritis ...

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cancer, autoimmune disease, and various pathologic conditions characterized by excessive fibrosis. In this study, we investigated the expression of MMP-9 and its clinical significance in systemic sclerosis (SSc). The patients (n = 42) with SSc had higher concentrations of MMP-9 and of tissue inhibitor of metalloprotei...

BACKGROUND Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by autoantibodies against various cellular components. OBJECTIVE To determine the presence or levels of antibodies (Abs) against a protease domain (PD) of caspase-8 and their clinical relevance in SSc. METHODS Anti-caspase-8 PD Ab was examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting using human recombinant caspase-8 PD. Ca...