Santiago T, et al. - This study evaluated variations in skin stiffness in systemic sclerosis (SSc) individuals using shear-wave elastography (SWE) during a 5-year follow-up. This analysis recruited a total of 21 individuals [85.7% females; mean age 56.3 (10.4) years at baseline, 57.1% with limited SSc] and 15 healthy controls [73.3% females; mean age 53.6 (14.1) years)]. Researchers measured skin stiffness [i.e. shear-wave velocity values (SWV) in metres per second] by SWE ultrasound (using virtual touch image quantification) at the 17 sites of the modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) in each participant, at baseline and follow-up. Applying the related-samples Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the Mann–Whitney U test, differences between groups were examined. This research gives first-time evidence indicating that skin SWV values are more sensitive to change over time than mRSS and minimize significantly over time in SSc and normal controls.