View clinical trials related to Scleroderma.
Filter by:To determine sleep disturbance, pulmonary function test, 6 minute walk, echocardiogram abnormality, arterial blood gas, ventilation/perfusion scan of the chest in Scleroderma patient with Pulmonary Hypertension.
This study is to compare the ability of optical biopsy. Research can use light enters the skin, collected, analyzed by the computer, and a picture created for the pathologist to conventional histologic examination compare with the pathologist looking at the piece of tissue through a microscope makes the diagnosis.
It is difficult to predict how a women with an autoimmune disease will do during pregnancy. Some women will improve, others will worsen. Some pregnancies progress normally and others become very complicated. The Duke Autoimmunity in Pregnancy (DAP) Registry will enroll women with autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and Sjogren's syndrome who wish to become, or already are, pregnant. We will follow these women throughout pregnancy to better understand how their autoimmune disease affects their pregnancy, and vice versa.
Systemic Sclerosis (Scleroderma) varies greatly in clinical manifestations, mode of presentation, and course. The natural history of this chronic autoimmune disease ranges from benign to fatal. Patients are classified into limited and diffuse scleroderma defined by the degree of skin involvement. Patients with limited disease (e.g. the C.R.E.S.T. syndrome) generally have mild disease and normal survival. However, patients with diffuse cutaneous scleroderma often have severe multi-system disease that is not only devastating emotionally and physically but is associated with a 60-70% five year survival and a 40-50% 10 year survival. No therapies have proven effective in the treatment of scleroderma. Strategy to treat scleroderma have included attempts to prevent fibrosis with drugs that interfere with collagen metabolism, attempts to modify the disease process by immunosuppression and attempts to alter the disease by vasoactive drugs. High dose of corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs (e.g. chlorambucil, 5-fluorouracil, methotrexate, cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine) used at conventional doses have not proven curative, but have shown some benefit for inflammatory features of the disease (e.g. arthritis, myositis, fibrosing alveolitis). Both allogeneic and autologous bone marrow transplantation (BMT) have shown to modify and in some instances reverse a variety of animal models of autoimmune disease. This has prompted many investigators to propose the use of peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) for the treatment of autoimmune disease including scleroderma. Unfortunately, this approach risks infusing untreated autoreactive lymphocyte clones after the immunoablative preparative regimen. We have previously demonstrated that high-dose cyclophosphamide without BMT can induce durable and complete remissions in another autoimmune disease, severe aplastic anemia. Recent data with high dose cyclophosphamide show that it can induce complete remissions in other autoimmune hematologic disorders. The objective of this study is to determine whether high dose cyclophosphamide can induce a durable remission in scleroderma patients with life-threatening disease, and to determine toxicity of high dose cyclophosphamide in high risk scleroderma patients.
Raynaud's phenomenon is thought to occur when, in response to cold or emotional stress, there is closure of the digital arteries and cutaneous arterioles leading to the clinical finding of sharp demarcated digital pallor and cyanosis of the distal skin of the fingers and/or toes. Patients often continue to experience problems despite current available treatment. The investigators' study will investigate the use of a new vasodilator called Fasudil, a Rho-kinase inhibitor. The investigators' hypothesis is that Fasudil will prevent vasoconstriction of digital and cutaneous arteries during a standard laboratory based cold exposure and will therefore improve digital blood flow and skin temperature recovery time following cold challenge. These data will provide the rationale for a more elaborate clinical trials in real life situations.
The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effectiveness of an investigational device which is similar in appearance to a "tanning bed" but which emits ultraviolet irradiation of a specific wavelength known as UVA1. This device has not been approved by the FDA for general use in this country, as yet, but it has been used quite successfully in Europe for several years in treating such conditions as scleroderma, keloids, and other fibrosing conditions of the skin. Your participation in this study may yield important information regarding the safety and effectiveness of this form of light therapy for the treatment of these skin conditions which, at present, are difficult to treat.
The purpose of this investigation is to evaluate the effectiveness of high-dose UVA1 irradiation in the treatment of fibrosing conditions of the skin, e.g., keloid (a thick scar from growth of fibrous tissue), scleroderma (deposits of fibrous tissue in the skin) and acne keloidalis nuchae (keloids on the back of the neck or hairline) old burn scars, granuloma annulare or other similar skin conditions. This UVA1 dosing schedule has been used successfully in Germany for various skin diseases, such as the above mentioned scleroderma.
The purpose of this research study is to test the safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of Topical AmphiMatrix with Nitroglycerin (MQX-503) to relieve Raynaud's symptoms and increase blood flow to the fingers.
The purpose of this study is to determine the timeline of progression from pre-pulmonary hypertension to diagnosable pulmonary hypertension based on right heart catheterization. Moreover, to determine the timeline for progression from diagnosable pulmonary hypertension to clinical worsening of disease as defined as death, hospitalization, or worsening of PHT symptoms.
The purpose of this trial is to study the proportion of scleroderma patients who suffer from asymptomatic coronary atherosclerosis compared to healthy controls.