Scleroderma

Research Progress Related to Scleroderma

NIAMS is funding and conducting research to find better ways to treat symptoms, prevent organ damage, and improve the quality of life for people with scleroderma.

Here are some other areas of ongoing research:

• Exploring the complex immune system, trying to determine why the body creates antibodies against its own tissues. Identifying where and when the antibodies are created and how they function could lead researchers to find targets for new therapies.
• Unraveling the genetic factors that predispose a person to getting scleroderma and scleroderma-associated lung fibrosis.
• Understanding why scleroderma can affect African Americans more severely.
• Evaluating how immunosuppressant and other medications can be used to help manage the symptoms and complications of scleroderma, particularly pulmonary complications.
• Exploring the many factors that lead to fibrosis to see if their development can be blocked.
• Determining how substances known as cytokines contribute to the disease process.