Effectiveness and safety of low-energy shock wave therapy for digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis: a phase 3 pivotal clinical trial.

Objectives: Systemic sclerosis is characterised by ischaemic skin ulcers on the fingertips, and low-energy shock wave therapy is suggested as a novel treatment for ischaemic lesions with angiogenic effects. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of shock wave therapy for skin ulcers in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Methods: In this phase 3 pivotal study, we analysed 60 systemic sclerosis patients with digital ulcers that did not disappear after >4 weeks of existing treatment: 30 patients were treated with extracorporeal shock wave therapy and 30 with conventional treatment.

Essential residues in diterpene synthases for biosynthesis of oryzalexins A-F in rice phytoalexin.

Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) produces a variety of diterpenoid-type phytoalexins. Diterpene synthase genes that are responsible for the biosynthesis of momilactones, phytocassanes, and oryzalexins have been identified in O. sativa cv.

Biomarker analysis from the phase 2b randomized placebo-controlled trial of riociguat in early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis.

Objective: To examine disease and target engagement biomarkers in the RISE-SSc trial of riociguat in early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis and their potential to predict the response to treatment.

Methods: Patients were randomized to riociguat (n = 60) or placebo (n = 61) for 52 weeks. Skin biopsies and plasma/serum samples were obtained at baseline and week 14.

GWAS for systemic sclerosis identifies six novel susceptibility loci including one in the Fcγ receptor region.

Here we report the largest Asian genome-wide association study (GWAS) for systemic sclerosis performed to date, based on data from Japanese subjects and comprising of 1428 cases and 112,599 controls. The lead SNP is in the FCGR/FCRL region, which shows a penetrating association in the Asian population, while a complete linkage disequilibrium SNP, rs10917688, is found in a cis-regulatory element for IRF8. IRF8 is also a significant locus in European GWAS for systemic sclerosis, but rs10917688 only shows an association in the presence of the risk allele of IRF8 in the Japanese population.