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LeRoy receives grant from Scleroderma Foundation The Scleroderma Foundation has granted E. Carwile LeRoy, M.D., a $150,000 research grant to investigate the cause of scleroderma. Scleroderma is a chronic, often progressive autoimmune disease, in which the body's autoimmune system attacks its own tissue. The disease, which means hard skin, can cause thickening and tightening of the skin, and in some cases serious damage to internal organs, including lungs, heart, kidneys, esophagus, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract. LeRoy's research will focus on human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) to discover if it has an impact on the formation of fibrosis in scleroderma patients. HCMV is a herpes virus that infects the majority of persons, but does not harm them because of healthy immune systems. LeRoy believes that once a patient develops scleroderma, HCMV attacks their body, causing fibroids and scarring associated with scleroderma.