NIH Funds Scleroderma Research

The division of rheumatology of the department of medicine has been awarded a four-year grant totalling $911,935 to study biochemical and vascular alterations in scleroderma, a progressively crippling and often fatal disease attacking the skin and internal organs. Sergio A. Jimenez, MD, the Dorrance H. Hamilton Professor of Medicine, director of rheumatology, and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology; and Elena Hitraya, MD, PhD, research assistant professor of rheumatology, are co-investigators of the project funded by the National Institutes of Arthritis and Muscular Skeletal Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

Drs. Jimenez and Hitraya are examining the mechanism responsible for the exaggerated production of collagen which leads to the clinical manifestations of scleroderma. The cause of scleroderma is unknown, but by gaining a better understanding of the disease process, the researchers hope to discover new and improved therapeutic remedies. "If we can prevent the development of fibrosis (thickening of the skin caused by uncontrolled accumulation of fibrous tissue), we can control the clinical symptoms that can lead to death. We'll be using the most advanced methods of molecular biology and genetics," says Dr. Jimenez, who has been studying scleroderma for nearly 30 years.

Jefferson boasts one of the foremost research and clinical centers for scleroderma in the world. The grant from NIH is one of only a handful awarded for scleroderma research over the last decade, according to Dr. Jimenez. About 500,000 Americans suffer from scleroderma, the majority being women between the ages of 25 and 45.