Birmingham doctors to lead major clinical trial into little-known but life-threatening rheumatic condition
DOCTORS in Birmingham are to co-ordinate a major clinical trial of a little-known but serious rheumatic condition with the aim of improving treatment for the UK's 5,000 sufferers.
Medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign has awarded £212, 041 to a medical team led by Professor Paul Bacon at the University of Birmingham and Dr David Carruthers, a consultant rheumatologist at the City Hospital, Birmingham, to run a five-year trial into vasculitis.
Vasculitis is rheumatic condition that leads to blood vessels becoming inflamed, and can affect all parts of the body, including the head, skin, joints, kidneys, heart and lungs. In severe cases it can result in irreversible organ damage and internal bleeding, and can sometimes be fatal.
"Although better treatment has considerably improved survival rates, there is still room for improvement, and what we want to do with this study is to come up with a more rapid and effective response to treatment which will improve the outlook for patients suffering from a "flare" in systemic vasculitis," explained Dr Carruthers.
"Cyclophosphamide is the most effective drug for therapy of severe active vasculitis, improving the outcome considerably, but unfortunately some patients still die in the early stages of their disease. A slow response to standard therapy might partly explain this."
Fifty patients from around the UK aged between 18 and 70 who are suffering from different types of vasculitis will be recruited onto the trial, which will be co-ordinated at the City Hospital.
They will be split into two groups; one group receiving the standard dose of cyclophosphamide, and another other group who will receiving a higher dose given for a shorter period of time to try to induce remission, followed by treatment with a less toxic milder drug. The aim is to turn off active disease as soon as possible to limit organ damage. Both groups will be followed for five years.
The Arthritis Research Campaign is the fifth biggest medical research charity in the UK, and Birmingham is a leading centre of ARC-funded research.
