Summary

In scleroderma, drug treatment of skin disease is difficult to assess due to the lack of easily measured endpoints. The modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) is one method used to differentiate systemic sclerosis (SSc) disease subtypes, but it does not change much over short periods. This article discusses results from the Fresolimumab in Systemic Sclerosis [NCT01284322] study showing that transforming growth factor-β a-response genes correlate with the mRSS and may provide a means to more quickly assess drug efficacy for skin fibrosis in early phase trials.