We'd like your feedback
Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.
Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.
Lucy
Zhao
lucy.zhao@kcl.ac.uk
Lucy
Zhao
lucy.zhao@kcl.ac.uk
Dr
Alice
Sheen
rheumatology-ctg@kcl.ac.uk
More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.
Inflammatory polyarthropathies
This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most prevalent form of inflammatory arthritis. In refractory RA, pain, a dominating symptom, is poorly described, and under treated. The underlying mechanisms involved are regulated by higher brain structures responsible for our emotional and cognitive states1. Therefore, it is thought that atypical changes in these regions (e.g., neurodivergent traits associated with depression, anxiety, autism, or ADHD) can influence the way we perceive pain, therefore contributing to the development of chronic pain. However, despite their significant relevance in RA and refractory disease activity, neither pain nor neurodiversity/mental health components have been appropriately assessed in the clinic or in research. We aim to address this unmet need.
To investigate how pain manifests in refractory RA, to include the influence psychological factors have on the pain experience and disease activity, our aim, in refractory RA patients, is to 1) generate sensory profiles using quantitative sensory testing (QST); 2) assess neurodiversity profiles using mental health questionnaires, and 3) evaluate disease activity by using clinical reports and measuring inflammatory biomarkers in blood samples. In doing so, we aim to establish a bedside protocol that will help clinicians consolidate an appropriate classification of the disease state, providing patients with personalized therapeutic strategies.
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
Observational type: Cross-sectional;
You can take part if:
You may not be able to take part if:
Exclusion criteria will include 1) recent (within 6 weeks) change of treatment targeting central pain processing (at the discretion of the treating physician); 2) severe Raynaud’s phenomenon; 3) peripheral neuropathy; 4) severe peripheral vascular disease, and 5) diagnosis of systemic autoimmune diseases other than RA.
Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.
Dr
Alice
Sheen
rheumatology-ctg@kcl.ac.uk
Lucy
Zhao
lucy.zhao@kcl.ac.uk
Lucy
Zhao
lucy.zhao@kcl.ac.uk
More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.
The study is sponsored by King's College London and funded by Wellcome Trust .
Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.
Read full details
for Trial ID: CPMS 59065
You can print or share the study information with your GP/healthcare provider or contact the research team directly.
