SynthesisRheumatology (Oxford, England)2017
Muscle involvement in systemic sclerosis: points to consider in clinical trials.
Synthesis in Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Inflammatory myopathies overlapping with systemic sclerosis: a systematic review.Clinical rheumatology · 2022Pooled it
- Early effects of antifibrotic therapy on respiratory muscle stiffness and dyspnea in SSc-ILD: a shear wave elastography study.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- Multimodal ultrasound in the assessment of muscle involvement in systemic sclerosis patients: results from a bicentric study.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Patients with inflammatory myopathies overlapping with systemic sclerosis: A Brazilian-Japanese bicentric study.Archives of rheumatology · 2023Article
- Right Ventricular Morphology and Function after Exercise Training in People with Systemic Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Involvement of Smooth Muscle, Striated Muscle, and the Myocardium in Scleroderma: A Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Using magnetic resonance imaging to map the hidden burden of muscle involvement in systemic sclerosis.Arthritis research & therapy · 2022Article
- Exercise as a multi-modal disease-modifying medicine in systemic sclerosis: An introduction by The Global Fellowship on Rehabilitation and Exercise in Systemic Sclerosis (G-FoRSS).Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology · 2021Review
- Muscle Damage in Systemic Sclerosis and CXCL10: The Potential Therapeutic Role of PDE5 Inhibition.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Article
- Article
- Myopathy is a Risk Factor for Poor Prognosis of Patients with Systemic Sclerosis: A retrospective cohort study.Medicine · 2020Article
- Sarcopenia in Autoimmune and Rheumatic Diseases: A Comprehensive Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Review
- Healthcare Resource Utilization Among Patients in England with Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease: A Retrospective Database Analysis.Advances in therapy · 2020Article
- Review
- Article
- Points to consider when doing a trial primarily involving the heart.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
SSc is clinically and pathogenetically heterogeneous. Consensus standards for trial design and outcome measures are needed. International experts experienced in SSc clinical trial design and a researcher experienced in systematic literature review screened the PubMed and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials in order to develop points to consider when planning a clinical trial for muscle involvement in SSc. The experts conclude that SSc-associated muscle involvement is heterogeneous and lacks a universally accepted gold-standard for measuring therapeutic response. Although outcome studies are currently limited by the inability to clearly distinguish active, reversible muscle inflammation from irreversible muscle damage and extramuscular organ involvement, strong consideration should be given to enrolling patients with a myopathy that features several elements of likely reversibility such as muscle weakness, biopsy-proven active inflammation, an MRI indicating muscle inflammation and a baseline serum creatinine kinase above three times the upper limit of normal to prevent floor effect. Randomized controlled trials are preferred, with a duration of at least 24 weeks. Outcome measures should include a combination of elements that are likely to be reversible, such as muscle weakness, biopsy-proven active inflammation, creatinine kinase/aldolase and a quality of life questionnaire. The individual measurements might require a short pre-study for further validation. A biological sample repository is recommended.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.