With experience in managing close to 500 cases of a condition that strikes only about 20 people in a million, the Center has developed clear protocols for care. We take an aggressive approach, for example, to dealing with problems like the ischemia that causes patients to lose their fingers. Treatment is tied closely to basic science research on scleroderma taking place at Hopkins, as well as clinical trials of new drugs. One drug now under investigation, the hormone Relaxin, down regulates the body's production of collagen, thereby reducing fibrosis. Another, the prostaglandin Iloprost, acts as a vasodilator, and could be very helpful in healing Raynaud's.
Additional trials focus on treating the lung and skin sclerosis that can go with the disease.
Every patient is precious. We owe them this advantage.