Children with arthritis set to benefit from major Belfast-based clinical trial
Children in Northern Ireland and the UK who suffer from the crippling condition of arthritis and other rheumatic diseases are set to benefit from a major half a million pound clinical being co-ordinated at Belfast's Musgrave Park Hospital.
Dr Madeleine Rooney, senior lecturer at the Queen's University, Belfast, and a consultant rheumatologist at Musgrave Park, is heading up a multi-centre clinical trial, which aims to reduce osteopenia (brittle bones) in youngsters who are taking steroids to treat their diseases.
The Arthritis Research Campaign is funding the three-year clinical trial on behalf of the British Society of Paediatric and Adolescent Rheumatology to the tune of almost £500,000.
More than 250 children aged between four and 18 will be recruited in Belfast and in nine other participating hospitals in the UK over the next year.
The team hope their research will lead to new guidelines on the treatment of steroid-induced osteopenia, which will improve the lives of the tens of thousands of children with arthritis who are affected throughout the world.
Steroids are widely used in the treatment of childhood arthritis and another related conditions, such as lupus, juvenile dermatomyositis or vasculitis. But the down side of these drugs is that they cause thinning of the bones. More than 50 per cent of children who take steroids develop osteopenia within a year.
The randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled trial will compare the effectiveness of risedronate, a bisphosphonate drug which protects against bone loss, with 1-Alpha (a more potent form of Vitamin D than the usual supplement) , on the bone density of the children over a 12 month period. A third group of youngsters will receive a placebo (dummy) drug. All children taking part in the trial will also take Vitamin D and calcium to ensure they have adequate nutritional intake.
"As a result of early onset arthritis, children develop growth abnormalities, joint damage and osteopenia," explained Dr Rooney. "This means they are at greater risk of developing osteoporosis in later life and are at increased risk of fractures, particularly vertebral collapse.
"There are currently many studies showing the effectiveness of bisphosphonates in the treatment of osteoporosis in adults – including a significant reduction in fractures, and there are now clear guidelines on how it should be diagnosed and treated.
"No such information is available in children. And although there are tens of thousands of children worldwide currently receiving steroids for chronic rheumatic diseases, there is no scientific basis for the prevention of steroid-induced osteopenia, nor any guidelines on how it should be treated.
"We hope that our trial will lead to the production of proper guidelines, and to better treatment for children with arthritis and other rheumatic diseases."
Recruitment for the trial will begin in the summer.
For more information email info@arc.org.uk
