Adiponectin peptidomimetics: Noval therapy for scleroderma

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune disease that affects the skin, joints and visceral organs. SSc is an orphan disease and there are no approved therapies for its treatment. The pathogenesis of SSc is complex and not well understood; the prevailing current view is that an insult or injury in a genetically-predisposed individual triggers chronic inflammation and macrophage infiltration, autoimmunity and vascular injury leading to chronic and progressive fibrosis in affected tissues. SSc is the most severe connective tissue disease, with high mortality rates that have remained unchanged for four decades. Leading causes of death in patients with SSc are pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension and cardiac involvement, while skin fibrosis is a commonly disabling manifestation. There are no approved therapies for SSc, and hence SSc represents an unmet medical need.