Scleroderma
Motherhood has inspired Chelsea Wood to stay positive and active despite having mixed connective tissue disease and Raynaud’s
I was 15 years old when I was clinically diagnosed with Raynaud’s, a condition that I later found out my mother had. The doctors told me that I would grow out of it, but instead my symptoms got worse and at the age of 17 years old I was sent to see a consultant rheumatologist. Continue reading
Systemic sclerosis risk increases if a relative has the disease
The risk of systemic sclerosis and a host of other autoimmune conditions increases if a relative has the disease, says new research published in Arthritis Research & Therapy.
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare and devastating disease affecting skin and internal organs – which is not generally considered to run in families. Continue reading
Female sex hormone clue to fighting serious immune disease
The results of a study presented recently at the European League Against Rheumatism Annual Congress (EULAR 2016) showed for the first time a beneficial effect of oestrogens in experimental models of skin fibrosis that are representative of the disease process in systemic sclerosis (SSc). These findings may explain the increased incidence of SSc in women after the menopause, the greater severity of SSc in men, and importantly open up the possibility of developing potential hormone therapies for this difficult-to-treat condition. Continue reading
Discovery of a molecular switch to stop inflammation?
A molecular switch – MYSM1 – may be able to suppress the overreaction of the immune system and could prevent inflammatory diseases experts claim in Immunity.
Although the immune system is vital for protection and healing, it can overreact causing chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. Continue reading
Over 10% of US adults live in chronic pain says new analysis of data
Most adults in the US have experienced some level of pain, from brief to more lasting (chronic) pain, and from relatively minor to more severe pain, say a new analysis of data from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). And an estimated 25.3 million adults (11.2%) experience chronic pain, ie pain every day for the preceding three months. Continue reading
