Scleroderma Foundation Holds Gateway to Hope 2009 National Patient Education Conference in St. ...( DANVERS Mass. July 16 /- ...),Health

DANVERS, Mass., July 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Scleroderma Foundation, the nation's leading non-profit supporter of scleroderma research, is holding the Gateway to Hope 2009 National Patient Education Conference July 17-19, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. Scleroderma, an autoimmune disease without a known cure, affects an estimated 300,000 people in the U.S., making it as common as multiple sclerosis. Scleroderma causes collagen to build up in the tissues of the skin and in internal organs, hardening them and leading to potentially fatal consequences.

The Gateway to Hope Conference helps patients and their families from all over the U.S. learn how to better cope with the physical and emotional challenges of living with scleroderma from the nation's foremost experts on the disease. This year's Conference will have a greater focus on juvenile scleroderma than in the past, incorporating more workshops aimed at helping younger patients deal with the disease. The Conference will also feature workshops on the latest treatments, like stem cell transplantation therapy, and provide scleroderma patients with a chance to build a supportive network of other patients from across the country.

"Every year I look forward to the National Conference as a chance to learn about the latest treatments and to come together with other patients," said Mary Blades, President of the Foundation's Missouri Chapter. "This year I am excited to be able to welcome scleroderma patients from across the country to my own community."

Two prominent scleroderma clinician researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Richard Brasington, M.D. a
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