New research hope for teenagers with arthritis

The charity Arthritis Research UK today launches the world's first research centre dedicated to understanding how and why arthritis affects teenagers. Researchers at the £2.5 million Centre, which is a collaboration between UCL, University College Hospital and Great Ormond Street Hospital, aim to understand why rheumatic diseases such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) or juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (JSLE) can be more severe in teenagers and why specific types of arthritis are more likely to occur in this age group. It is hoped that the research carried out at the Arthritis Research UK Centre for Adolescent Rheumatology will lead to better treatments for teenagers and young people with the condition. There are approximately 15,000 children and young people in the UK living with arthritis. It causes disability, pain, fatigue and irreversible joint damage. This is the world's first Centre dedicated to understanding the very specific needs of young people who are growing up with arthritis. Lucy Wedderburn, UCL Institute of Child Health Having arthritis as a teenager makes the physical, psychological and sexual changes teenagers go through more difficult.