While the doctors at The Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center search for cures for scleroderma, they are successfully treating and educating patients and their families. Since 1992, The Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center has attracted over 2,000 patients from around the world. The Center's physicians and staff see 5-7 new patients every week.
Johns Hopkins is home to renowned doctors who specialize in the parts of the body affected by scleroderma. Since the early days of the Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center, director Dr. Fredrick Wigley has turned to his Hopkins colleagues for expert treatment of his patients. The success of The Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center reflects the strength and cohesiveness of this extraordinary group.
Thanks to patients of The Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center, Dr. Wigley and his colleagues have built one of the largest databases on scleroderma in the world. The repository—containing data and blood and tissue samples from patients who chose to participate—is open to researchers studying triggers that spark the disease process, patterns of disease, new treatments, and much more.
Over a dozen scleroderma research studies (basic science, clinical trials, and epidemiology) are underway at Johns Hopkins. Studies at other research and medical institutions also involve physicians and researchers from The Johns Hopkins Scleroderma Center. Dr. Wigley and his team are finding answers and are continuing to use the evidence to reach their ultimate goal of finding a cure for scleroderma.