scleroderma research Archives - Living with Scleroderma

Chopin to the Rescue

Evelyn Herwitz — Tue, 02 May 2023 12:00:24 +0000

Last Thursday, I drove two hours in heavy traffic to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston to participate in a three-hour clinical study. As I wrote back in November, not long after I had a heart catheterization stress test, one of the cardiologists asked if I’d be willing to participate in a study to […]

The post Chopin to the Rescue appeared first on Living with Scleroderma.

Guinea Pig

Evelyn Herwitz — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 12:00:48 +0000

Over the four decades I’ve had scleroderma, I have occasionally participated in research. One of the first studies I signed up for was in the mid-’90s, a trial of medications for Raynaud’s at Boston Medical Center. It was a randomized double-blind study that involved taking a daily pill, recording my experience with Raynaud’s in a […]

The post Guinea Pig appeared first on Living with Scleroderma.

If I Had a Billion Dollars

Evelyn Herwitz — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 13:00:57 +0000

Al and I were sitting at the dinner table Sunday night, finishing our meal of salad plus macaroni-cheese-and-tomato-sauce casserole. “The Power Ball is worth over a billion dollars,” he said ($1.4 billion, to be exact—but who’s counting). “Really?” I said. “What would you do with a billion dollars? I mean, whatever was left after taxes?” […]

The post If I Had a Billion Dollars appeared first on Living with Scleroderma.

Imagine

Evelyn Herwitz — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 12:00:48 +0000

Passover this past weekend was extra special. A few hours before we were scheduled to begin our seder on Friday night, we learned that one of our cousins received the all-clear on her lymphoma, following six months of chemotherapy. There were big hugs all around when she and her family arrived for dinner. A central […]

The post Imagine appeared first on Living with Scleroderma.

Ray of Hope

Evelyn Herwitz — Tue, 07 Jan 2014 13:00:38 +0000

Nothing like starting the new year with some good news about scleroderma research. In my email box last week, I found this item in the Scleroderma Research Foundation’s monthly eNewsletter (12-30-13): Researchers Prevent and Reverse Mice Fibrosis in a Mouse Model of Stiff Skin Syndrome; Study Shows Promise for Scleroderma I read on, heart quickening: […]

The post Ray of Hope appeared first on Living with Scleroderma.

Miracle Quest

Evelyn Herwitz — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 12:00:27 +0000

Twenty-six years ago this fall, I got on an airplane and flew to Pittsburgh to see Dr. Virginia Steen, one of the pioneering rheumatologists in the field of scleroderma research. She was kind, thoughtful and clear: I had systemic sclerosis, I was on a risky path, and I needed to start taking d-penicillamine (not to […]

The post Miracle Quest appeared first on Living with Scleroderma.

Enough, Already

Evelyn Herwitz — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:30:04 +0000

On Monday afternoon, I took Ginger to the vet. This was her semi-annual check-up, time for renewing all her shots. For a nearly 15-year-old Golden, she’s doing great, though getting a bit slow on the up-take, between arthritis, some hearing loss and what I suspect is a touch of senility, as well as the inevitable […]

The post Enough, Already appeared first on Living with Scleroderma.

Breakthrough

Evelyn Herwitz — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 12:00:12 +0000

Last Wednesday, the Scleroderma Foundation announced a research breakthrough in the search for a scleroderma cure. A team of University of Pittsburgh Medical School researchers, including the Foundation’s board vice chair Dr. Carol Feghali-Bostwick, has discovered a peptide that blocks skin and lung fibrosis. The so-called E4 peptide was discovered serendipitously when the team was […]

The post Breakthrough appeared first on Living with Scleroderma.