Bath scientists lead the way into rheumatoid arthritis research
Scientists in Bath are playing a major role in developing better treatment for the crippling condition of rheumatoid arthritis, which affects around 600,000 people in the UK.
Bath is one of the leading national centres of arthritis research, with medical research charity the Arthritis Research Campaign providing funding of £1.75m into a variety of important projects.
The charity is highlighting the work, carried out at the University of Bath and the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, during its Research Week (June 5-12), aimed at raising awareness of rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an inflammatory disease in which the body's immune system attacks the joints, leading to pain, inflammation and stiffness.
The charity is spearheading a major research initiative into rheumatoid arthritis by currently pumping more than £6m into research centres throughout the UK. The outlook for patients is improving dramatically as better and more effective drug treatments are constantly developed.
In Bath, a team of doctors at the RNHRD have recruited more than 250 patients from Bath, Winchester, Gwent and Bangor onto a study aimed at identifying patients in the very early stages of rheumatoid arthritis.
They will then predict which patients will develop aggressive, severe disability, with the aim of targeting more appropriate therapies, hoping to minimise disability in the future.
David Blake, Professor of Bone and Joint Medicine at the University of Bath's School of Postgraduate Medicine, is also leading a major research programme into trying to identify the complex mechanisms that sustain inflammatory problems in the joint.
Studies by the group have led to a clearer understanding of the way in which a joint becomes oxygenated, and this in turn has led to the development of a series of drugs that specifically target tissues which lack an oxygen supply.
"Our results very clearly show the widespread benefits of supporting basic research with a long-term strategy," explained Professor Blake. "The Arthritis Research Campaign has always taken this view, and our work in Bath shows that the rewards to the rheumatic sufferer are considerable.
