Active clinical trials for "Scleroderma, Localized"

The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility and preliminary effects of a novel treatment approach to improve arm function in patients with scleroderma who have upper extremity contractures. It is a Phase 1, one arm trial in which participants will be assessed at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. The rehabilitation intervention will involve 8 individual sessions with an occupational therapist. Feasibility of the procedures is a major focus of this project.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of Dasatininb in the treatment of scleroderma pulmonary interstitial fibrosis.

Scleroderma is a systemic disorder categorized as an immunologically mediated disease that causes collagen deposition of skin and visceral organs. The molecular pathogenesis of scleroderma has been elusive, although vasculopathy and immune mediated mechanisms are thought to be important. Once extensive cutaneous or visceral disease occurs, prognosis is significantly shorter than the general population. Although various treatments have been tried, none of them seems to have changed the natural history of scleroderma. Standard dose immunosuppressive treatment has been disappointing. Recently, cyclophosphamide at 1-2 mg/kg/day orally or 800-1400 mg intravenous (IV) monthly for 6-9 months has proven effective in treatment of scleroderma alveolitis (1). Recent phase I studies of immunoablation with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) showed some promising data, but the exact efficacy is undetermined (2,3). We now propose, as a phase II randomized study, autologous unmanipulated PBSCT versus pulse cyclophosphamide in patients with systemic scleroderma.

Researchers from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) are conducting a study to evaluate whether mycophenolate mofetil (an immunosuppressive medication, trade named CellCept) is safe and effective for preventing the lung damage from scleroderma from getting worse.

This study will examine the effectiveness of two psychological treatment approaches designed to help people who have scleroderma with three important areas of daily living: pain, depression, and distress about changes in appearance. The study will also evaluate the impact of depression on the two psychological treatments. Because psychological approaches requiring a trained professional can be expensive and are often not available to most patients, this study will also look at the effectiveness of a self-help treatment approach.

An innovative method of needleless transcutaneous electroacupuncture (TEA) using a newly developed watch-size stimulator is proposed. Weak electrical current will be delivered via skin surface electrodes to acupuncture points related to gastrointestinal functions. The stimulator can be attached to the skin near the acupuncture points and therefore daily activity of the patient does not need to be altered. Two experiments are designed to prove the feasibility of the proposed therapy for gastric complications of Scleroderma .

Telerehabilitation Approach on Individuals with Hand-Affected Scleroderma

This study evaluates if dabigatran etexilate is safe for use in patients with Scleroderma and Interstitial Lung Disease. All patients will receive 75mg of dabigatran etexilate twice a day for 6 months.

Early phases of systemic sclerosis is characterized by inflammatory and microvasculature alterations. Sildenafil citrate has been shown to have vasodilatory effects and to enhance vasculogenesis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of sildenafil citrate on hand blood flow of patients with systemic sclerosis, using Laser Doppler Imaging.

Scleroderma is a rare, long-term autoimmune disease in which normal tissue is replaced with dense, thick fibrous tissue. Normally, the immune system helps defend the body against disease and infection. In people with scleroderma, the immune system triggers fibroblast cells to produce too much of the protein collagen. The extra collagen becomes deposited in the skin and organs, causing hardening and thickening that is similar to the scarring process. Although scleroderma most often affects the skin, it also can affect other parts of the body, including the lungs, and in its most severe forms scleroderma can be life-threatening. Scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease is one example of a life-threatening scleroderma condition. In people with symptomatic scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease, scarring occurs in the delicate lung tissue, compromising lung function. The purpose of this study is to determine whether people with symptomatic scleroderma-related interstitial lung disease experience more respiratory benefits from treatment with a 2-year course of mycophenolate mofetil or treatment with a 1-year course of oral cyclophosphamide.