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Showing results for tags 'Autoimmune conditions'.
Found 7 results
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Content ArticleSome studies suggest a higher incidence of diagnosis of autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRDs) among patients with a history of Covid-19 compared with uninfected patients. This binational cohort study of patients in Korea and Japan aimed to investigate the effect of Covid-19 on long-term risk for incident AIRD over various follow-up periods. The authors found that Covid-19 infection was associated with increased risk for incident AIRD compared with matched patients without Covid-19 infection or with influenza infection. The risk for incident AIRD was higher with greater severity of acute Covid-19.
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Content ArticlePeople taking methotrexate (for inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis) have regular blood tests to check for certain side effects. Researchers have developed a tool to predict the likelihood of them discontinuing methotrexate due to these side effects, which could in future lead to less frequent testing for most people (68%) on methotrexate. The tool uses information routinely collected by GPs. The study found that it could predict people’s risk of discontinuing methotrexate because of side effects. It was accurate for most people across different ages, inflammatory conditions, methotrexate doses and routes of administration. The researchers say the tool could in future be used by GPs to identify people who need more or less frequent blood tests. This article refers to the original research study Risk stratified monitoring for methotrexate toxicity in immune mediated inflammatory diseases: prognostic model development and validation using primary care data from the UK
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Content ArticleDuring the pandemic, approximately 4.1 million people across the UK were identified as clinically extremely vulnerable (CEV) to Covid-19, and asked to shield for their own protection. This decision, made in the light of an unprecedented pandemic, would separate those with autoimmune inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, from the rest of society for their own protection. This report by the charity Versus Arthritis presents qualitative research led by Dr Charlotte Sharp, a consultant rheumatologist, Lynn Laidlaw who has an autoimmune rheumatic disease and had to shield, and patient contributor Joyce Fox from the Centre for Epidemiology at the University of Manchester. It highlights the stories of people who lived through shielding and details the impact on their daily lives, their physical and mental wellbeing, their work, and their relationships with their families and the rest of society.
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Content ArticleIn this blog, US family doctor Lisa Baron highlights the role that social media has played in exposing how patients, particularly women, are dismissed and gaslighted by healthcare professionals, resulting in delayed diagnosis, deterioration and trauma. She talks about her own experience of having her symptoms and concerns dismissed by her GP, which led to a two-year delay in being diagnosed with coeliac disease, rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren's syndrome. She goes on to talk about her experience of Long Covid and how her symptoms were dismissed and not taken seriously in spite of the life-limiting nature of her condition. She raises concerns that Long Covid patients are turning to unqualified practitioners offering untested, ineffective and expensive treatments as they are not being taken seriously by mainstream healthcare systems.
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Content ArticleThis blog focuses on a poster presented at the World Congress on Pain that recently took place in Toronto and discusses the connection between Long Covid and fibromyalgia.
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Content ArticleIn this blog, Kath Sansom, founder of campaign group Sling the Mesh, outlines her concerns about three new mesh products for muscle and tendon injuries that have been given near automatic approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She highlights that although the manufacturers claim the products have caused no sensitivity issues and no adverse responses in animals, there is no data on the potential long term impact of the mesh devices. Highlighting the knowledge that we now have about the potential for surgical mesh to cause severe injury and side-effects, Kath raises concerns about the lack of regulatory rigour and the potential for these degradable devices to cause fibromyalgia and other systemic issues. Read more about the approval of products for shoulder soft tissue repair
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Content Article
This report, produced by Fair Treatment for Women of Wales, contains an outline of current practice in Wales, patient testimonies, and a series of recommendations for improved care provision for lupus and, by extension, other rare auto-immune diseases.
