Scleroderma Foundation (Southern California Chapter) Talk on Therapeutic Plasma Exchange
We are pleased to announce that our CEO/Founder, Ed Harris, was invited by the Southern California chapter of the Scleroderma Foundation to give a talk on the use of therapeutic plasma exchange as a treatment for systemic scleroderma. Because of the era we are all living in, the presentation was done by Zoom, of course. The talk was done on Saturday, July 25, 2020 and was followed by a Q&A session. The entire presentation, including the [...]
Dept. of Defense Funding for Scleroderma Research
Over the past 28 years, the Dept. of Defense (DOD) has funded almost $16 billion in medical research through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program. For the first time, scleroderma has been designated as focus research area with FY 2020 funding of $5 million, in part due to efforts of the Scleroderma Foundation and Scleroderma Research Foundation. As I have been doing grant reviews for the DOD for the past two years, I was asked [...]
Pulsed Plasma Exchange for the Treatment of Systemic Sclerosis: An Overview for Clinicians
We are frequently asked by patients interested in talking to their doctor about trying therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) how to approach this topic. This can be very challenging, especially since many rheumatologists have little or no experience using TPE and often view TPE as a last resort treatment when everything else fails, assuming (incorrectly) that it is very invasive and risky. Working with the doctors on our Medical Advisory Board, we have written a document [...]
Systemic Sclerosis and COVID-19: Up to Date Recommendations for Physicians
This article by the World Scleroderma Foundation on systemic sclerosis and COVID-19 just came out today in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases: https://ard.bmj.com/content/early/2020/04/29/annrheumdis-2020-217407. I think it is well worth reading for anyone with scleroderma who is concerned about COVID-19.