View clinical trials related to Systemic Sclerosis.
Filter by:Relaxin is a naturally occurring protein prduced by the ovary or placenta in pregnancy. It has ani-fibrotic properties. Previous studies have shown that relaxin is safe at concentrations upto 60 times higher than achieved in pregnancy. Study is designed to see if skin improvement and improvement in functional ability can be achieved.
We propose to examine several angiogenic/angiostatic mediators in the skin and serum of subjects with SSc and compare it to levels found in the skin and serum of healthy subjects.
This study is to determine if subjects with .systemic sclerosis have stimulatory autoantibodies to the PDGF receptor and to confirm activation (phosphorylation) of the PDGF receptor in skin sites with varying degrees of skin thickening
The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and tolerability of imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) in patients with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). Gleevec is a medication already FDA approved for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans tumors, Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia, hypereosinophilic syndrome, and aggressive systemic mastocytosis. In-vitro studies have suggested that imatinib may inhibit collagen production by scleroderma fibroblasts, and in mouse models of fibrosis imatinib has been shown to decrease skin thickness. This is a Phase IIa, single center, prospective open label clinical trial of Gleevec in patients with systemic sclerosis. All patients will be treated with active drug for 12 months. The primary objective of this study will be to determine the safety and tolerability of Gleevec in patients with systemic sclerosis, but important secondary outcomes of relevance will be improvement in disease status as defined by skin scores and indices of pulmonary function. Patients who complete the initial phase (described above) of the study will be eligible to participate in an extension phase. The purpose of the extension phase of the study is to give patients who participated in the phase IIa clinical trial of Gleevec at the Hospital for Special Surgery the opportunity to continue Gleevec treatment if both the treating physicians and the patient are in agreement that Gleevec had acceptable safety and tolerability, as well as possible efficacy during the initial year of therapy.
The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and tolerability of imatinib (gleevec) in subjects who have systemic sclerosis. Imatinib has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of newly diagnosed adult patients with CML (newly diagnosed adult patients and for the treatment of patients with an accelerated phase. Imatinib is also approved for the treatment of patients with a certain type of gastrointestinal cancer (called stromal tumors) but it has not been approved to treat systemic sclerosis. Imatinib works by interfering with an enzyme called tyrosine phosphatase resulting in suppression of the immune system. It als interferes with a protein called platelet derived growth factor receptor (PDGFr) that has been linked to increased fibrosis.
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.
This is a study to determine the safety of the immunosuppressive rapamycin in patients with systemic sclerosis with diffuse cutaneous scleroderma. The effects (both good and bad) are being compared to another group of systemic sclerosis patients receiving methotrexate
Small bowel involvement is still recognized to be associated with great morbidity and mortality in SSc patients, leading particularly to malabsorption and intestinal pseudo-obstruction. Intestinal disorders directly related to SSc have, in fact, been reported to be one of the most common causes of death. In a previous prospective study, we have demonstrated the high prevalence of small intestinal involvement in SSc patients, using upper intestinal manometry; in turn, 88% of our SSc patients had upper intestinal motor disturbances. However, to date, no authors have yet analyzed the course of upper intestinal motor dysfunction in SSc. The aims of this study were therefore to assess the 5-year course of small bowel motor disorders, using manometry in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), and to investigate for an association between upper intestinal motor dysfunction outcome and other clinical manifestations of SSc.
In an earlier clinical trial, RAPIDS-1, conducted in scleroderma patients with or without digital ulcers at baseline, bosentan significantly reduced the number of new digital ulcers versus placebo. The purpose of the present trial (RAPIDS-2) is to evaluate the prevention and healing effects of bosentan versus placebo on digital ulcers over a 24-week treatment period.
Scleroderma is likely caused by a combination of factors, including an external trigger (infection or other exposure) and a genetic predisposition. The Scleroderma Registry will conduct genetic analyses for disease-related genes in patients with scleroderma and their family members (parents, brothers, and sisters).