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Elastography Ultrasound in Localized Scleroderma (Morphea) Study
Sponsor: The Hospital for Sick Children
Summary
Localized scleroderma (LS) is a skin disease that can cause complications such as disfigurement and limitation of mobility. Treatment for LS should be initiated early in the disease, as late-stage scleroderma does not respond well to treatment. Objective tools for diagnosis and follow-up of treatment for LS are not available clinically and are urgently needed. A new non-invasive ultrasound technique called "elastography" measures stiffness of tissues and holds potential for providing objective measures for follow-up of treatment of LS in children and adolescents. The team plans to conduct a multicenter study in North America to determine whether elastography ultrasound can show changes in skin stiffness for a period of 9 to 12 months after initiation of treatment for LS. This novel technology may add information to the existing imperfect clinical tools, thus improving the way therapy is offered to patients with LS.
Official title: Elastography Ultrasound in Localized Scleroderma (Morphea): a Prospective, Longitudinal, Multicentric Pilot Study
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
Any - 18 Years
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
20
Start Date
2023-03-10
Completion Date
2026-12-31
Last Updated
2025-02-26
Healthy Volunteers
No
Conditions
Interventions
Elastography Ultrasound
The US imaging protocol will include three parts: (i) gray-scale; (ii) color Doppler, and (iii) Shear-wave elastography (SWE)
The Localized Scleroderma Quality of Life Instrument (LoSQI )
The questionnaire is a validated disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure that covers different domains (skin sensations, physical functioning, body image and social support, designed for children and adolescents with localized scleroderma
Locations (1)
The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, Ontario, Canada