Study sheds light on deadly lung disease

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, is characterized by the formation of fibrosis, or scar tissue, on internal organs as well as the skin. Beyond its disfiguring symptoms, SSc is associated with a high rate of deadly lung disease. Pulmonary fibrosis strikes at least one-third of SSc sufferers, and kills 30 percent within 10 years. Assessing and treating SSc remains challenging, despite recent clinical trials, due in part to an incomplete understanding of the origins and progression of this autoimmune disorder.