SGH to lead $5.8m research project to combat deadly autoimmune disease

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is launching a new five-year, $5.8 million research project focused on enhancing the diagnosis and treatment of systemic sclerosis, a life-threatening autoimmune disease with largely unknown underlying causes. The condition is believed to stem from a combination of genetic and environmental factors.

The research team aims to develop a predictive algorithm to better identify patients at risk of worse outcomes. They also plan to validate an imaging technique that can detect earlier those individuals whose condition is likely to deteriorate. Systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, affects approximately eight in 100,000 people in Asian populations.

"Scleroderma is particularly challenging as it affects each patient differently in both severity and progression," stated project lead Andrea Low. "With Asian patients showing poorer survival rates and known genetic differences in scleroderma risk, the goal is to develop more personalized treatments and better ways to predict how the disease will progress."

Approximately 300 patients will be recruited for the study. Participating institutions include the SingHealth Duke-NUS Translational Immunology Institute and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine at Nanyang Technological University, among others.

Systemic sclerosis can lead to thickening and hardening of the skin, lungs, and other internal organs. The disease's progression is influenced by three interconnected processes: inflammation, vascular damage, and excessive fibrosis. This research aims to gain a deeper understanding of these processes and develop more targeted therapies.