JAK inhibition prevents bleomycin-induced fibrosis in mice and is effective in morphea patients

To the Editor, Morphea is an autoimmune disease that causes fibrosis of the skin that may result in significant morbidity. Eosinophilic fasciitis (EF) may be considered a deeper form of morphea, and features of both morphea and EF can be present in individual patients. Morphea and EF have been postulated to have pathogenic features that overlap with systemic sclerosis (Laxer and Zulian, 2006). In these diseases, dysregulated immune responses are thought to induce fibrosis (Torok et al., 2019). Treatment of these diseases with non-specific immunosuppressants such as corticosteroids is often ineffective and associated with toxicity.

Source: Journal of Investigative Dermatology - January 15, 2020 Category: Dermatology Authors: William Damsky, Dhrumil Patel, Colton J. Garelli, Madhuri Garg, Alice Wang, Karen Dresser, April Deng, John E. Harris, Jillian Richmond, Brett King Tags: Letters to the Editor Source Type: research