Scleroderma Disease

An anti-cancer drug that suppresses the immune system is the first drug that has been shown to alleviate the most devastating effects of scleroderma, a disease of the connective tissues and lungs. Patients taking cyclophosphamide experienced significant improvement in lung function and a reduction in breathlessness. They also reported feeling healthier and more energetic, Dr. Donald P. Tashkin of UCLA told a San Diego meeting of the American Thoracic Society on Monday.

An anti-cancer drug that suppresses the immune system is the first drug that has been shown to alleviate the most devastating effects of scleroderma, a disease of the connective tissues and lungs. Patients taking cyclophosphamide experienced significant improvement in lung function and a reduction in breathlessness. They also reported feeling healthier and more energetic, Dr. Donald P. Tashkin of UCLA told a San Diego meeting of the American Thoracic Society on Monday.

Of course Sharon Monsky knew she'd see the day when 400 people would gladly give time and money to support her foundation. "I had a dream," she said, "and it was that we could find a cure for the disease. And the truth is that we made incredible progress. Most people said, 'Oh, you can only grow little by little.' But the truth is, that wasn't good enough." The disease is scleroderma, a degenerative, disfiguring and life-threatening illness that affects hundreds of thousands of people.

For 25 years, Karen Brown has been the heart and soul of an annual charity that started as a friendly backyard gathering and has now raised more than $3 million to fight muscular dystrophy. Now Brown is now being sidelined from her hard-fought battle by another debilitating and sometimes fatal disease: scleroderma. The bubbly 48-year-old former grocery store owner with the toothy smile and the big, jet-black hairdo has been so quickly and severely stricken that she must use a wheelchair.

Times may be tough, but a benefit for an obscure and hard-to-pronounce disease--scleroderma--drew 420 people paying $250 apiece to Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel Sunday night. The fifth annual fund-raiser, entitled "Cool Comedy--Hot Cuisine," has become known for its lineup of top comedians, a culinary feast prepared by City restaurant and the courage and energy of its founder, Sharon Monsky, who does battle with scleroderma herself.

For 25 years, Karen Brown has been the heart and soul of an annual charity that started as a friendly backyard gathering and has now raised more than $3 million to fight muscular dystrophy. Now Brown is now being sidelined from her hard-fought battle by another debilitating and sometimes fatal disease: scleroderma. The bubbly 48-year-old former grocery store owner with the toothy smile and the big, jet-black hairdo has been so quickly and severely stricken that she must use a wheelchair.

It appears that Deb Comer, who is afflicted with schleroderma, a deadly skin disease, will be granted her wish to sing "The Messiah" in Russia this winter. The Stanton woman had despaired of traveling to Moscow and St. Petersburg with her chorale because of the $2,500 price tag for the trip. But people responded to a newspaper story last week by sending a total of about $4,000 to the Cypress Masterworks Chorale to pay for her trip. One woman sent a check for $2,500.

Deb Comer is singing herself alive. Nine years ago, she became sick with scleroderma, a deadly disease that hardens the skin and continues inward to freeze up the body's connective tissues and internal organs. Throughout her struggle, she has sung soprano with the Cypress Masterworks Chorale, which she joined 11 years ago. "I think it's kept me going," Comer said. "It's hard to have your body falling apart on you. The singing has been therapy for me."

The Scleroderma Research Foundation bills its annual fund-raising gala as "Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine." This year, with Lily Tomlin performing and the City restaurant catering, they went the gourmet route. The event Sunday at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel was the sixth time out for the fund-raiser. Past performers include Robin Williams and Rosie O'Donnell, so snagging Tomlin was in a high-standard tradition. Before the dinner, the comedian said she was unsure about working in a ballroom.

An experimental drug for scleroderma appears to reverse the crippling, disfiguring tissue disease, which afflicts about 400,000 Americans and kills rapidly in severe cases. Relaxin, made by Palo Alto-based Connectics Corp., has promise both for controlling little-understood scleroderma and for helping researchers battle other autoimmune diseases, said Dr. James R. Seibold of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

An experimental drug for scleroderma appears to reverse the crippling, disfiguring tissue disease, which afflicts about 400,000 Americans and kills rapidly in severe cases. Relaxin, made by Palo Alto-based Connectics Corp., has promise both for controlling little-understood scleroderma and for helping researchers battle other autoimmune diseases, said Dr. James R. Seibold of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

The Scleroderma Research Foundation bills its annual fund-raising gala as "Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine." This year, with Lily Tomlin performing and the City restaurant catering, they went the gourmet route. The event Sunday at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel was the sixth time out for the fund-raiser. Past performers include Robin Williams and Rosie O'Donnell, so snagging Tomlin was in a high-standard tradition. Before the dinner, the comedian said she was unsure about working in a ballroom.

It appears that Deb Comer, who is afflicted with schleroderma, a deadly skin disease, will be granted her wish to sing "The Messiah" in Russia this winter. The Stanton woman had despaired of traveling to Moscow and St. Petersburg with her chorale because of the $2,500 price tag for the trip. But people responded to a newspaper story last week by sending a total of about $4,000 to the Cypress Masterworks Chorale to pay for her trip. One woman sent a check for $2,500.

Deb Comer is singing herself alive. Nine years ago, she became sick with scleroderma, a deadly disease that hardens the skin and continues inward to freeze up the body's connective tissues and internal organs. Throughout her struggle, she has sung soprano with the Cypress Masterworks Chorale, which she joined 11 years ago. "I think it's kept me going," Comer said. "It's hard to have your body falling apart on you. The singing has been therapy for me."

Times may be tough, but a benefit for an obscure and hard-to-pronounce disease--scleroderma--drew 420 people paying $250 apiece to Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel Sunday night. The fifth annual fund-raiser, entitled "Cool Comedy--Hot Cuisine," has become known for its lineup of top comedians, a culinary feast prepared by City restaurant and the courage and energy of its founder, Sharon Monsky, who does battle with scleroderma herself.

Of course Sharon Monsky knew she'd see the day when 400 people would gladly give time and money to support her foundation. "I had a dream," she said, "and it was that we could find a cure for the disease. And the truth is that we made incredible progress. Most people said, 'Oh, you can only grow little by little.' But the truth is, that wasn't good enough." The disease is scleroderma, a degenerative, disfiguring and life-threatening illness that affects hundreds of thousands of people.

Donations are being asked to help defray the medical expenses of actor Will Sampson, who died in a Houston hospital Wednesday after receiving a heart-lung transplant. The 6-foot, 7-inch Indian actor, best known for his featured role in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," had accumulated medical bills of thousands of dollars since he was diagnosed as suffering from scleroderma, a disease that produces swelling of the skin, said Sandy Webb, an associate.

Linda Chavez Rodriguez, the daughter of the late United Farm Workers founder Cesar Chavez and wife of the union's current president, died Monday of complications from scleroderma. She was 49. Rodriguez died at Barlow Respiratory Hospital in Elysian Park, where she was being treated for the breathing problems that accompany scleroderma, a disease in which connective tissue in the body becomes hardened and rigid.