Singapore General Hospital to lead $5.8m research project combatting autoimmune disease

Singapore General Hospital (SGH) will lead a five-year research project, funded with $5.77 million, to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of systemic sclerosis, a potentially fatal autoimmune disease.

The project aims to develop a predictive algorithm to better identify patients at risk of poor outcomes and validate an imaging technique for earlier detection of disease deterioration. Systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, affects approximately eight in 100,000 people in Asian populations.

The "Singapore Systemic Sclerosis Precision Medicine Project" (Sysmic) will involve collecting data on genes and immune systems from around 300 patients. Research institutions and hospitals, including SingHealth Duke-NUS Translational Immunology Institute, National Neuroscience Institute, and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, are participating.

Project lead Andrea Low highlighted the disease's complex and varied impact on patients. Given that Asian patients often exhibit poorer survival rates, the initiative seeks to develop more personalized treatments and improved methods for predicting disease progression.