Active clinical trials for "Scleroderma, Diffuse"

Leap Motion Based Gamefication Exercises in the Individuals With Systemic Sclerosis

The present study recruits female patients aged 45-65 years with a diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis according to the EULAR/ACR 2013 criteria and age and gender-matched healthy control subjects. The purpose of the study is to investigate the possible role of Klotho and other cytokines involved in the osteoimmunological control of bone turnover as a possible determinant of the microvascular damage and fibrosis observed in SSc patients

The primary objective of the study is to describe the different phenotyping of pain in systemic scleroderma patients and perturbations of mechanisms of the pain. As secondary objectives, the study aims to describe the importances of overall symptoms in alteration of quality of life and conserve the questions which will be associated in a unique questionnaire in order to evaluate the pain, the fatigue and the sleeping disorders in diffused systemic scleroderma patients.

Innate T cells (ITC) are decreased in systemic sclerosis (SS) and an early lymphocyte innateness has been reported. In the other part, ITC are implicated on inflammatory process, including the IL-33/ST2 axis, which is also involved in ScS endotheliopathy. Data are however scarce and physiopathological mechanisms have not been assessed to date. The investigators hypothesize a global lymphocyte innateness in SSc, linked to a chronic ITC stimulation by innate signals leading to ITC exhaustion, and their potential role in endotheliopathy and fibroblast activation in SSc.

B Lymphocytes are thought to play an important role in the pathophysiology of systemic sclerosis. In this study, the profibrosing role of B lymphocytes of patients with systemic sclerosis will be evaluated.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a serious and often fatal complication of connective tissue diseases including systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus. It has been reported primarily from European series that the prevalence of PAH in patients with connective tissue diseases particularly systemic sclerosis is as high as 15-20%. However, given the paucity of medical literature in the area from Chinese population, the prevalence of PAH amongst Chinese patients with these conditions is largely unknown. Even worse, PAH is often undiagnosed amongst patients with connective tissue diseases due to the lack of awareness and/or access to echocardiography, which is a non-invasive first-line screening tool for PAH. As a result, most patients at diagnosis of PAH are at a relatively late stage, rendering pharmacological treatment less effective. Here, the investigators propose a territory-wide pulmonary hypertension screening for patients with connective tissue disease in order to (1) detect pulmonary hypertension amongst patients with connective tissue disease through systematic screening, and (2) understand the prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in Chinese patients with connective tissue diseases.

Serum, synovial fluid and skin biopsies from patients will be collected to the biobank with rheumatoid diseases. These samples will later be used for clinical and basic research, following approval of each specific study by the IRB. The investigators intend to extract protein, DNA and RNA from each sample.

Two treatment methods, ablative CO2 laser and intradermal hyaluronidase, will be combined to maximize the beneficial potential of each. Laser-assisted drug delivery (LADD) has been shown to be effective for the administration of medications in diverse skin diseases but not previously reported for the treatment of scleroderma-induced microstomia. By using this laser technique, the investigator can reduce the pain of typical hyaluronidase injections and reap the therapeutic benefit of the laser treatment itself. The investigator's goal is to create greater mouth mobility for chewing and speaking as well as improved oral hygiene, self-esteem, and overall quality of life. Each participant will undergo three separate laser sessions at 4 to 8-week intervals. Participants will also complete a follow-up visit three months after the last laser session to evaluate the response.

The term gut microbiota describes the entire intestinal microbial communities. Studies have established the important role played by the gut microbiome in modulating vital functions of the healthy host. The physiological effects of the microbiota for the host are, for the most part, beneficial. In several pathologies, an imbalance in the composition of the microbiota has been demonstrated. Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune, disorder of the connective tissue, characterized by vascular lesions, immunological abnormalities, and fibrosis of skin and internal organs As in many inflammatory diseases, there are painful digestive manifestations in systemic scleroderma that affect up to 90% of patients. The exact pathophysiology of the digestive involvement in systemic sclerosis is uncertain. The digestive manifestations of systemic sclerosis are frequent and can affect the entire digestive system. However, there are few studies of the intestinal microbiota in this disease, which seems to be part of the same continuum of diseases with abnormalities of innate immunity. By analogy with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases, particularly Crohn's disease, we have raised the question of the existence of dysbiosis during scleroderma which could lead to episodes of acute, severe and recurrent inflammation of the peritoneum under the influence of triggering factors. The long-term prospects would be to look for ways to prevent attacks or to treat them more rapidly and effectively by using therapeutic targets in the intestinal microbiota. The study population will be seen in the usual care setting, identically to all patients with systemic sclerosis treated in the department. In case of an inflammatory disease outbreak, and depending on its severity, the patient will be seen again in consultation or hospitalized. Appropriate complementary examinations (biology, imaging, endoscopy) will be carried out and the treatment adapted.

Systemic sclerosis is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by microangiopathy, activation of the immune system, and sclerosis of tissues including the skin. Facial involvement is frequent and disabling. It causes significant functional and aesthetic discomfort, and a major deterioration in quality of life. It results in a loss of suppleness of the skin and subcutaneous tissues, dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint, peribuccal rhagades, microstomia, and dry mouth causing difficulties in mouth opening, feeding, dental care, and weight loss. Facial involvement in systemic sclerosis can be assessed using the Mouth Handicap in Systemic Sclerosis (MHISS) score, a validated patient questionnaire assessing the functional and aesthetic consequences of systemic sclerosis on the face. Although common and disabling, facial involvement is underestimated and poorly managed. Immunosuppressive and/or anti-fibrosis drugs are not very effective. Facial rehabilitation could significantly improve the mouth handicap but facial rehabilitation is not currently performed in standard care in systemic sclerosis patients. The aim of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of a personalized rehabilitation program vs standard care in facial involvement of systemic sclerosis patients.