Upcoming treatments for morphea
Wenzel, Dan ; Haddadi, Nazgol-Sadat ; Afshari, Khashayar ; Richmond, Jillian M ; Rashighi, Medhi
Citations
Student Authors
Faculty Advisor
Academic Program
UMass Chan Affiliations
Document Type
Publication Date
Subject Area
Embargo Expiration Date
Link to Full Text
Abstract
Morphea (localized scleroderma) is a rare autoimmune connective tissue disease with variable clinical presentations, with an annual incidence of 0.4-2.7 cases per 100,000. Morphea occurs most frequently in children aged 2-14 years, and the disease exhibits a female predominance. Insights into morphea pathogenesis are often extrapolated from studies of systemic sclerosis due to their similar skin histopathologic features; however, clinically they are two distinct diseases as evidenced by different demographics, clinical features, disease course and prognosis. An interplay between genetic factors, epigenetic modifications, immune and vascular dysfunction, along with environmental hits are considered as the main contributors to morphea pathogenesis. In this review, we describe potential new therapies for morphea based on both preclinical evidence and ongoing clinical trials. We focus on different classes of therapeutics, including antifibrotic, anti-inflammatory, cellular and gene therapy, and antisenolytic approaches, and how these target different aspects of disease pathogenesis.
Source
Wenzel D, Haddadi NS, Afshari K, Richmond JM, Rashighi M. Upcoming treatments for morphea. Immun Inflamm Dis. 2021 Dec;9(4):1101-1145. doi: 10.1002/iid3.475. Epub 2021 Jul 17. PMID: 34272836; PMCID: PMC8589364. Link to article on publisher's site