Publications
Find coverage of the latest original articles on scleroderma, focusing on those with data on therapeutic interventions and those that have clinical impact.
Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim.
June 2025
Faecal microbiota transplantation in patients with systemic sclerosis and lower gastrointestinal tract symptoms in Norway (ReSScue): a phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Lancet Rheumatol 2025;7:e323–32 doi: org/10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00334-5
Fretheim et al. showed that the faecal microbiota transplantation with ACHIM was well-tolerated in participants with systemic sclerosis but did not result in an improvement in lower GIT symptoms. Fretheim et al. compared the effects of repeated upper intestinal infusions of ACHIM with placebo in patients with systemic sclerosis and moderate-to-severe lower GIT symptoms. The ReSScue trial provides valuable insights that can inform future GIT studies in patients with systemic sclerosis.
Comparative efficacy of immunosuppressive therapies in the treatment of diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis
ACR Open Rheumatol 2025;7:e70004 DOI: 10.1002/acr2.70004.
White et al. report a post hoc analysis of the RESOLVE-1 trial comparing immunosuppressive therapies in diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc), finding numerically greater improvement in modified Rodnan skin score and stabilisation of lung function with mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), particularly in patients with early-stage disease and anti–topoisomerase 1 antibodies. These findings strongly support MMF as a preferred background therapy in this population.
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Tocilizumab in systemic sclerosis: A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 trial
Lancet Respir Med 2020;8:963–74 DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30318-0.
Khanna et al. evaluated tocilizumab in patients with early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis in the focuSSced trial. The primary endpoint of improved skin fibrosis was not met, but a key secondary outcome showed that tocilizumab significantly preserved lung function compared with placebo.