AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR SCLERODERMA RESEARCH INC Information

Our sister, daughter, mother and friend Joy LoSchiavo was diagnosed with Scleroderma. Scleroderma is an over production of collagen in the body which affects the internal organs and is considered a terminal illness. Joy's kidneys failed and she was put on dialysis. Her mother donated a kidney and several years later the disease attacked that kidney and she is now on in-home dialysis. She has been approved to get her second kidney transplant and we are coming together to raise money to help cover her miscellaneous expenses related to the transplant. Please help us support her in her time of need. Click here to view the Press Release! A portion of each ticket sold will go to the American Society For Scleroderma Research, a grass roots non-profit organization founded in 2004. Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease affecting individuals of all age ranges, including children. For more information go to: www.miamijazzfest.com or call 305-405-Jazz (5299) Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researcher Dr. Robert Lafyatis has won two grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling $11.3 million, to fund research into the rare disease scleroderma. One grant is worth $8 million over five years, and the other totals $3.3 million, also over five years. Scleroderma, also called systemic sclerosis, is a complex immune disease involving widespread scarring and vascular disease within multiple organ systems, and there are few therapies currently available. Scleroderma is a debilitating and too often fatal auto-immune disease that affects 300,000 people across our country. Scleroderma itself means "hard skin". The hardness is caused by increased production of collagen and other proteins that cause skin thickening and replaces normal skin structure with scar tissue. Scleroderma can be a devastating disease and the same thickening process may occur in the blood vessels, the lungs, the kidneys, the intestinal tract and other key organs. Research over the last two decades has lead to improved treatment for scleroderma ...