News & Events
General News & Events
Following the launch of the King’s Fund report Patient Centred Leadership: Rediscovering Our Purpose, Ailsa Bosworth, Chief Executive of the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society, was invited to speak at the NHS Leadership and Management Summit and offer a patient’s perspective.
Click here to read more.
Guys are currently recruiting for a clinical trial. NRAS is keen to support UK clinical research and so if anyone is interested in finding out more about this opportunity to take part in a research programme, please contact Prof. Panayi at the email address on the flyer. Do not contact NRAS!
Click here to read more about the trial.
The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society welcomes the announcement by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) that it is recommending the use of abatacept IV as a first line biologic agent for adults with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Click here to find out more.
As a member of NRAS you can get involved in so many opportunities that support the work of the society and improve the lives of those living with RA. Want to find out more?
NRAS have planned 3 UK regional training events to help you find out how YOU can help support the work of your society.
Click here to find out more!
One in three people with rheumatoid arthritis, regardless of their age, will fall one or more times a year. This is according to a new University of Manchester study published in Arthritis Care and Research, the largest and first study of its kind to give a full picture of falls in people with rheumatoid arthritis.
Click here to read more.
The Medicines for Children Research Network (MCRN) is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) set up in 2005 to improve the coordination, speed and quality of randomised controlled trials and other well designed studies for children and adolescents, including those for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
It is currently recruiting parents or carers to join Clinical Studies Groups (CSGs) responsible for addressing research priorities, and helping to ensure that studies on medicines for children are developed and carried out to best meet the needs and wishes of children and families.
Click here to find out more.
We are often been told how much our lifestyle can impact on our health – maintain a healthy diet, don’t smoke, exercise regularly and drink alcohol in moderation. None of these recommendations are new to us. Now researchers at the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Musculoskeletal Biomedical Research Unit in Manchester have found a link between several lifestyle factors and pre-existing conditions, including an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.
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Study title: The development of information for clinical trials
What’s the purpose of this study? This is a pilot study as part of a larger research project which aims to provide better information for patients involved in clinical trials in the future.
Click here to read more and find out how to take part in the study.
The National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society is pleased to announce the first ever Rheumatoid Arthritis Awareness Week in the UK, a week dedicated solely to raising awareness of RA, a disease that 690,000 people across the UK live with. The week will be held from Monday 24th June to Sunday 30th June and the focus this year is that young people get RA too.
Click here to read more!
NRAS is supporting a clinical study being carried out by King’s College London and Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as Co-sponsors with Prof. Andy Cope as Chief Investigator. The purpose of this study is to determine whether rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can be prevented if targeted immunotherapy is given to subjects in whom autoantibody screening indicates high risk of developing the disease.
Please click hereto read more about the study.
Researchers at Kings College London are reaching the culmination of fifteen years of work by carrying out the first in-human trial of a new treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. If successful then the two year trial will show that infusions of binding immunoglobulin protein (BiP) will enable the body’s own immune system to help protect it against rheumatoid arthritis.
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The newspapers today have been filled with stories on the benefit of sunlight and how regular exposure, particularly to ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation, could help prevent the onset of rheumatoid arthritis. The study, first presented in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, involved research carried out in the US, and concluded “the mechanisms are not yet understood, but could be mediated by the cutaneous production of vitamin D and attenuated by use of sunscreen or sun avoidant behaviour.” It is always encouraging when research further enhances our knowledge of RA and its many possible causes as there is still so much to discover. It is important to note that this research is still in the early stages.
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Click hereto read the event poster.
You may think that those of us at the NRAS office are always asking you to go the extra mile for us, and we truly appreciate all you do. But we too put ourselves out on a limb for NRAS. NRAS staff and some of their family members took part in Potty Panto in Maidenhead.
Click hereto read more and see the video.
Do you have joint pain in your hips or knees?
Are you interested in making some changes to your physical activity levels?
If so the University of Strathclyde need you! Click hereto find out more.
NRAS is pleased to support the Edgar Stene Prize Competition 2013. At the opening ceremony of the forthcoming European Congress of Rheumatology in Madrid, Spain, on 12 June 2013, the Edgar Stene Prize will be awarded for the essay topic:
“Growing up or growing older – my secret for healthy ageing with a rheumatic or musculoskeletal disease”
Click hereto find out more on the competition and how to enter.
Double your Donation at no extra cost to you throughout December.
NRAS is taking part in this year’s Candis BIG GIVE Challenge, which is a matched giving challenge, aiming to double your donation against a corporate partner at no extra cost to you! Candis Magazine is our corporate partner and is doubling all valid donations made in the challenge period.
Click hereto find out more.
My name is Elizabeth Hale and I would like to give you some information about a research project that I am carrying out and I would like to invite you to take part. The research team are myself and Professor George Kitas from The Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust and Professor Panos Vostanis and Dr Michelle O’Reilly from the University of Leicester. The research is being funded by Arthritis Research UK and The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust Charitable Fund.
Click hereto read more.
Have you developed a new idea to improve the services, education or information for your rheumatoid arthritis patients? If so, we have just launched our ninth Patients in Focus Award to recognise best practice in the education, treatment and care of people with rheumatoid arthritis.
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Bonfire night was not the only reason for fireworks this week. It is a time for celebration at the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society after it was revealed that the 4,000th member had joined, a remarkable achievement for such a young charity.
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20th September 2012 - On the 19th September Channel 4 aired the first episode in its second series of the Food Hospital, a show that tries to demonstrate how diet can have an effect on certain medical conditions. The programme featured Beth Murray, a young lady of 29 who had what appeared to be fairly severe rheumatoid arthritis. It is to be welcomed that Channel 4 are raising awareness of the fact that rheumatoid arthritis is not a disease of the elderly (a common misconception amongst the general public) and featured a young person with the disease.
NRAS is concerned however, that the programme left one with the impression that rheumatoid arthritis and inflammation can be controlled with diet alone and this is not the case. No mention was made by the presenter of recommendations in the evidence based NICE Clinical Guideline about early effective treatment with disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs or the recommendations about diet detailed below.
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24th August 2012 - The greatest show on Earth is not over yet. London 2012 is still in full flow, it’s just allowing everyone to catch their breath before the Paralympics begins on the 29th August. During the Olympics we witnessed some incredible moments, particularly on Dorney Lake and at the Velodrome where Team GB dominated the rowing and the cycling. Whether it was Michael Phelps winning his 18th Olympic gold medal, Beth Tweddle finally winning her first Olympic medal or Hamadou Djibo Issaka rowing across the finish line 90 seconds later than his competitors, the theme was the same. Olympians gave their all.
To run faster, go higher and be stronger was what they strived to achieve, and achieve it they did. For many of them, to be an Olympian is what they have dreamed of their whole lives. From an early age they have excelled at their given sport, worked hard, trained most days and then seen the fruits of their labours emerge.
Paralympians are no different. They may not have desired Olympic glory from an early age, or even any form of sporting glory. In many cases, either through illness or injury, their lives were changed forever, and with that, so did their ambitions. In true Olympic spirit, no setback, however challenging, was going to stop them from getting on with their lives and aiming high.
One such competitor is Leigh Walmsley. Leigh was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 13 years ago. She was only 30, dispelling any myth that rheumatoid arthritis is an old person’s disease caused by a lifetime of wear and tear on the joints.
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20th August 2012 -NRAS is please to support and encourage people to participate in this important piece of research being conducted by the Work Foundation on behalf of the Fit for Work UK Coalition. Depending on your answers it should only take you approximately 15 minutes to complete the online questionnaire.
Click hereto read more and take the survey.
17th August 2012 - An international Summit on September 27 and 28 will bring together over 100 delegates in London from patient associations from across the world to represent immune-mediated conditions (IMID) including IBD, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. The theme is “a bigger voice for a better future” – to communicate common messages around early diagnosis, referral and treatment which affect all IMID disease areas. Each association/charity will select one poster representing the theme of “a bigger voice for a better future” to display at the Summit and the winning design will be used to spearhead public awareness campaign.
Click hereto read more about the competition.
EULAR (European League Against Rheumatism) have recently published 10 recommendations for the role of the nurse in the management of inflamatory arthritis. They are now keen to obtain the views of patients across the EU regarding these recommendations. In particular, the survey looks at the need for nursing care as differences exist in the availability of nursing care across Europe. Even if you do not have access to a rheumatolgy nurse, EULAR would especially like to hear from you!
Click hereto read more and take the survey.
I am currently working with a group of international researchers who have been engaged for a number of years on work-related outcome measures for use in arthritis in clinical trials. There are many different approaches to quantify the impact of health on work and many differing but equally important perspectives which are relevant to a variety of stakeholders including employers, health economists and governments over and above the person with the disease and their immediate family. One of the things we are looking at is a single global measure for presenteeism, which can measure when someone is experiencing difficulty at work due to their arthritis which might at some point result in the person losing their job.You can find out more about the survey and what’s involved by clicking here.
Can you help? At the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) medical congress in London last year, the leadership of NRAS met with representatives of MSD (Merck) the international healthcare company, to discuss a project in which people living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the United Kingdom would compare experiences living with this disease with patients in other regions of Europe. The goal of this project is to help determine if RA patients living in select regions in Europe have disease management and treatment experiences that differ from those patients living in other regions. This project will help identify variations in the level of health care received and how these differences may affect everyday activities for people living with RA.
Click hereto find out more.
'Still Beauty' an RA related photography exhibition by Ottavia Castellina
You are invited to the opening view of 'Still Beauty' by Ottavia Castellina on Wednesday 28th March at Atrium 2, Ground Floor, Bermondsey Wing, Guy’s Hospital.
Click hereto read more about the exhibition.
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