"We found that a common link exists between the fibrosis in different organs affected in scleroderma, specifically skin, lungs, GI tract, and peripheral blood cells. That common link is a certain type of cell of the innate immune system that we think is driving the disease....
What’s important about our discovery is that almost every drug currently used to treat scleroderma targets the adaptive immune system, by targeting T cells and B cells, and not those innate immune cells. So fundamentally, the drugs that are being used to treat scleroderma, in most cases, are probably not targeting these important cells."
Wonderful discovery. It implies a completely different attitude to scleroderma. It won't be implemented during my life time but younger patients may benefit some day.
Thanks tall-tim I always find your posts interesting it's great to see new research. Very helpful and good discussion points for my iloprost week coming up next Monday .
"a certain type of cell of the innate immune system".... I wonder if your consultant will have read this research.
The trouble is that, like physics and its quest for elementary particles, medical science spends time studying cells - but the systemic nature of the whole is less easily studied. The answer to Scleroderma is - in my view - understanding epigenetics and the way that the genome is read (or misread) within a dynamic system. Sadly (as zenabb says) we are likely to be gone before anyone gains any insights into this systemic reality.
Interesting information about the research. I have a friend (he is a trained doctor), living in the USA. He is involved in a project that are looking into fining the gene that causes Scleroderma. The project is underway at the University of Utah, when I first got diagnosed with Myosits with a Scleroderma overlap around Sept 2014, he was very helpful to me and was keen to quietly 'keep an eye' on my meds.
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